


Intended Purpose

by triste



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: Drabble Collection, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-22
Updated: 2012-11-22
Packaged: 2017-11-19 06:47:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 35,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/570389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triste/pseuds/triste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack wants something. It's even more important than cup ramen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

Title: In the Name of Altruism  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Yusei is a light sleeper. He’s learned to be alert even in a state of unconsciousness, which is why even the slightest sound can wake him up. Even so, it’s not that often lately when he actually gets the rest he needs. He pushes himself too hard, pulling one all nighter after the other, working tirelessly, relentlessly, always putting his own needs last.

And then, when he can’t resist the demands of his body any longer, he either passes out at his desk or on the sofa, sleeping a deep, dreamless sleep that nothing and nobody can tear him out of. Jack could blow something up in the garage (again) and Yusei probably wouldn’t stir.

At least this time he’s actually managed to make his way to bed for once, something that pleases Jack, which is nice because he’s been somewhat annoyed by Yusei’s inability to take proper care of himself lately.

If Yusei isn’t up to the task, then somebody else obviously needs to do it for him.

Today, that somebody happens to be Jack.

It’s a simple enough job, guarding Yusei while he catches up on the many hours of slumber he’s missed out on while turning away anyone who comes to bother him (Crow with spare parts that he’s scrounged up from somewhere and wants Yusei to take a look at, Rua who wants Yusei to hang out with him because Ruka is busy doing something else and Aki who uses the excuse of being stuck with homework simply to get her daily Yusei fix), but an important one.

Jack takes it very seriously. He’s also diligent when it comes to crossing off the second to-do item on his list. The most important thing for Yusei to do after getting some sleep is getting something to eat, and Jack prepares for this in advance. It’s a good thing he went shopping yesterday, because now he finds himself with a number of cup ramen flavours to choose from. He has miso, chicken, beef, curry, shrimp and crab to name just a few of the varieties, but since crab flavour seems to be the most fitting, it’s the one that Jack puts aside for later use.

When Yusei wakes up, Jack is ready and waiting.

“Good morning,” he says, looking considerably more refreshed as he makes his way into the kitchen.

“It’s already evening,” Jack points out.

Yusei glances out of the window to see that it’s mostly dark outside. “So it is,” he agrees. He sounds surprised by the discovery, the way he tends to be when he starts his day off with coffee, forgetting about it as soon as he sits himself in front of the computer, only to wonder how and why it got so cold when he eventually remembers to drink it some time later. “How long was I out?”

“A while,” Jack replies vaguely. The reason he refuses to give the exact answer is because Yusei seems to think anything more than three hours of sleep is excessive. The fact that most human beings require around five hours more to recover from the things they go through on a daily basis doesn’t quite figure into Yusei’s brain, and he puts himself under twice as much stress as the average person.

Yusei yawns and shrugs his shoulders. It leaves Jack feeling relieved that he isn’t going to press the issue. “Well, back to work,” he says, moving in the direction of the garage downstairs before Jack can stop him, but then pausing when his stomach gives a noisy grumble. “Ah.”

Jack smirks, suitably smug. The moment for him to shine has come at last. “Rejoice!” he booms, presenting his cup ramen with as much pomp and flourish as a Michelin star chef presenting a full course meal. “I, Jack Atlas-sama, have created this exquisite delicacy especially for you. Be grateful and accept it before the noodles start going soggy.”

Yusei stares for a few seconds in a way that makes Jack uncomfortable, like he’s trying to figure out just what the heck he’s doing, but Jack stands his ground. Another grumble from Yusei’s stomach makes him take up Jack’s offer without further hesitation, pursing his lips to gently blow the steam rising from the cup as Jack hands over the necessary utensils in order to consume said delicacy.

Jack watches him all the while to make sure Yusei actually finishes his ramen, and while it would be nice for him to show some more enjoyment than the way his mechanical chewing and swallowing displays, at least he’s filling his belly with something other than coffee, tea or water.

“Thank you for the meal,” Yusei says once he’s finished. Jack nods. It’s an appropriate and satisfying response, but he’s not done yet.

“The shower is free,” he informs Yusei. “Get cleaned up. I made sure to save the hot water for you.”

“Jack,” states Yusei, amusement tingeing his tone and curving his lips, “I do believe you’re spoiling me.”

“Hmph.” Jack crosses his arms over his chest, too stubborn to confirm it, but not wanting to ruin things for Yusei by denying it. “Think whatever you want.”

Yusei’s smile widens just a little, and he leans up to whisper into Jack’s ear on his way out. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to repay your kindness later.”

Jack tries not to shiver at Yusei’s warm breath ghosting over his skin, but he can’t stop the smirk that forms when Yusei leaves. He’s not exactly altruistic by nature, and while he wasn’t expecting any kind of reward for everything he’s done, he’s hardly going to turn down Yusei’s promise.

The sound of the shower starting up catches Jack’s attention long enough to realise that he ought to be even more helpful by washing Yusei’s back (or any other part of his body Jack’s hands are in the mood for touching) for him.

It’s all in the name of altruism, Jack reminds himself as he heads towards the bathroom, and also because, as karma dictates, the more he makes himself useful, the more he’ll end up gaining in return.

 

End.


	2. Two

Title: Intensity  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: NC-17  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

One.

The way Yusei looks at Jack from under half lowered eyelashes is coy, almost innocent, but Jack knows better. Yusei’s hands are too confident, too skilled for anything else, his tongue equally wicked and sinful as he licks his way along the length of Jack’s cock.

(He likes the fact that Jack is watching him, likes feeling the weight of his stare as his lips close around the tip of Jack’s hard-on and suck.)

Jack can guess where Yusei’s experience comes from. He wants to ask, "Did Kiryu teach you this?" but doesn’t.

There’s no point when it’s so obvious.

 

Two.

There’s a bruise on Yusei’s neck, down low and on the right side. It stays out of sight behind the collar of his jacket, but Jack knows it exists. He’s the one who put it there, after all.

When it starts to fade, he bites at it, his teeth sharp and insistent against Yusei’s skin until it blooms again, until Jack is satisfied, Yusei arching and gasping beneath him, fingers digging into Jack’s shoulders and leaving little crescent-shaped brands of their own, and it pleases him, this mark of ownership, this proof that he alone is whom Yusei belongs to.

 

Three.

Yusei can imagine Jack is right here with him as he holds his coat, burying his face against it and inhaling Jack’s scent. Closing his eyes, he can pretend his hands are Jack’s as he slips one underneath the waistband of his jeans, fondling himself.

“Jack,” he moans, wishing he wasn’t quite so alone.

The coat is a poor substitute for what Yusei really needs, but it feels and smells enough like Jack to bring back memories of his warmth, weight and sheer intensity.

It’s a sharp reminder of what Yusei misses most, what he can’t recreate in Jack’s absence.

 

Four.

There’s something about watching Yusei fingering himself that makes Jack feel deliciously dirty, like he can’t get enough of how he looks when he’s teasing himself open, but there comes a point when just looking isn’t enough, when he has to reach behind Yusei and join in.

Yusei already has two of his own fingers in deep up to the knuckle, and Jack adds one of his to make three. If Yusei feels this tight around their fingers, Jack knows he’ll be even more so around his cock, but he’s willing to hold on a little longer before finding out.

 

Five.

Jack doesn’t waste any time dragging Yusei’s jeans down his hips as he bends him over the seat of his D-Wheel, shoving his knees apart so he can get between them and fumbling with his own pants to free his cock.

Yusei is no help whatsoever as he hisses at Jack to get a move on but Jack shuts him up by sliding his hard-on between the cheeks of Yusei’s ass, making him gasp and jerk.

“Fuck,” he groans, reaching around to tug at Yusei’s dick as he grinds against him, and it ends just as quickly as it started.

 

Six.

Sex is usually enough to leave most people sated and lazy afterwards, but not Jack. He’s always greedy, always hungry for more, *now*, his hands steady and demanding as they run along Yusei’s body, down his back and thighs and to his ass, opening him up.

He’s still wet with lubricant and Jack’s release, still shivering from the aftershocks as Jack slips his fingers inside. It’s not entirely pleasurable, and he’s not ready to go again just yet, but Jack doesn’t like to be kept waiting.

Yusei lifts his hips. Jack doesn’t hesitate. He’ll take whatever Yusei has to give.

 

End.


	3. Three

Title: Expectant  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/fem!Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: Genderswitch  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

When Jack trudges downstairs into the kitchen, he only barely registers Yusei sitting at the table and poring over complicated-looking diagrams.

“Hey,” Yusei says in greeting.

“Mfrrgle,” says Jack. It’s the best response he can come up with in his current state (he’s never really been a morning person), but there are more important things to tackle at the moment as he heads straight for the coffee jar.

He swears when he finds it empty, figuring Crow must have been the one to drink the last of it before setting off on his deliveries, and he’s forced to make do with green tea instead, now in a foul mood indeed over being denied his daily caffeine fix.

It leaves him feeling irritable and grumpy as he sits down next to Yusei, and he’s not exactly up for conversation when she turns to him to speak.

“That glitch I mentioned to you last night when I was working on the Wheel of Fortune,” she begins, only continuing when Jack gives her a grunt to show that he’s listening, “I should have it fixed later on this afternoon.”

“Mm,” says Jack.

“But before that, I have a repair job to handle first. I doubt it’ll take too long.”

“Ah.”

“By the way, I’m pregnant.”

Jack chokes on his tea, fixing Yusei with a watery-eyed stare. “You’re *what*?” he sputters.

“Pregnant,” Yusei repeats, matter of fact. Jack’s mouth opens and closes, but no words come out of it. “Before you ask, yes, it’s yours. Not that it could possibly be anyone else’s, but I thought I’d make it clear just in case you were wondering.” She gets up, giving him a brief pat on the shoulder. “Well then, I’ll see you later.”

And so, she leaves Jack on the couch, still in a state of shock and very much in need of something a lot stronger than caffeine.

~~

Crow is the one who finds him three hours later, his eyes vacant and his expression dazed.

“Isn’t it a bit too early for that?” he says, gesturing towards the bottle by Jack’s side.

“Yusei is pregnant,” Jack blurts out.

Crow seems to take the news surprisingly well. “Um, congrats?” It’s an appropriate enough response, but one that makes Jack’s head start spinning even more than the alcohol. “Boy or girl?”

“How the hell should I know?”

Crow raises his eyebrows. “Whatever the case, I hope Yusei’s smart genes are stronger than your dumb ones. I’d hate for the poor sprog to inherit too much from the Atlas side of the family.” Then he blinks. “I guess this means you guys will be getting married if there’s a kid on the way?”

Jack doesn’t answer. He hasn’t even thought that far, nor has he come to terms with the fact that he’s going to be a father. It’s all too much for him to take in at once.

Crow frowns at Jack’s silence, his voice suddenly stern. “You’re not planning on doing a runner, are you?”

The question breaks Jack out of his stupor, making him glare. “Don’t be a moron,” he snaps. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.” Satisfied, Crow nods. “Just making sure.”

It annoys Jack that Crow actually entertains the idea that he might not be man enough to take responsibility for his actions, that he won’t stand by Yusei when she needs him most. The anger does a good job clearing away the fog in his brain. It also makes him grimace at the bottle he’s been drinking from, so he throws it into a nearby trashcan.

“Cheer up,” Crow grins. “You can’t sit around moping forever just because your life’s about to change beyond recognition.”

“I know that!” Jack snarls.

“Ooh, daddy got mad,” teases Crow. He soon stops laughing when Jack punches him, but the words stay behind long after Crow goes back to work. It brings Jack to the realisation that he’s probably going to be called this someday, either by his son or his daughter, whichever one his and Yusei’s offspring turns out to be.

He wonders how Yusei feels, what her reaction was when she found out.

Jack sighs. It’s time for them to talk.

~~

Yusei is already at the garage when Jack returns, fixing whatever happens to be wrong with his D-Wheel (there’s no point in Yusei trying to explain the technical stuff to him, he won’t get it anyway).

His gaze strays in the direction of her stomach. It looks as flat as it’s ever been. Jack can’t quite believe there’s something (some*one*) growing inside there, a miniature human being that’s going to end up being some sort of unholy cross between himself and Yusei.

Jack doesn’t see what would be so bad about the kid taking after him. His genes are magnificent, not to mention worthy of passing down from one generation to the next. They’re also dominant, just like the rest of him. He has the genes of a king, a champion. Any kid would be grateful to receive such a mighty gift.

“Oh, you’re back,” says Yusei, noticing him at last. “I was wondering where you’d gone.”

Jack moves closer, giving into curiosity and placing his palm against her belly. “Shouldn’t it be kicking or something?”

Yusei gives him a wry smile. “I’m guessing it’ll be another few months yet. Babies need time to develop. They’re not like instant noodles.”

Jack pulls back Yusei’s tank top to expose the bare skin underneath. There’s no sign of any bump. “You’re really pregnant?” he asks.

“Yes, Jack,” she says. “I really am pregnant.”

“How do you know?”

“I could tell you, but then your eyes would glaze over the way they tend to do whenever I try to talk you through how a D-Wheel actually works. Just nod and pretend you understand.”

In other words, it’s a woman thing. Jack does as he’s told and nods his head. If it makes Yusei happy then what the hell.

“Martha’s going to kill me,” he says.

“Probably,” Yusei agrees.

They’re going to have to tell her at some point, if only to get the obligatory parenting lessons, but Jack is happy to delay his inevitable doom for at least a little while longer.

Yusei places a hand over Jack’s. “You won’t leave, will you?” Jack isn’t used to seeing her so vulnerable. It doesn’t feel right. “Not that I couldn’t manage without you, but still.”

“Idiot,” he grunts, trying to reassure Yusei by threading their fingers together. “Whether you need me or not, I’m staying.”

“Even if you’re useless for the most part?”

A vein throbs in Jack’s forehead. “Yes,” he promises, forcing a smile (it comes off as more of a scowl). “Even if I’m useless.”

“Good.” Yusei squeezes his fingers. “I’m glad.”

And that, apparently, is all there is to it.

 

End.


	4. Four

Title: Worst Ever  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: NC-17  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Jack doesn’t really have dreams often, but when he does they tend to fall into one of three categories, dreams of the past, dreams that could more accurately be described as nightmares and, of course, dreams of sex (because he’s male and it tends to be on his mind quite a bit, even when he’s asleep). He doesn’t think he’s ever had a dream like this one though, and never to this level of sheer filthiness, but as with most of his sex dreams, it involves a naked and writhing Yusei.

This time it’s different, if only because Jack isn’t the one doing perverted things to him. In his dream, it’s one of Aki’s Duel Monsters that happens to be having its way with him, specifically Rose Tentacles.

The mental images haven’t exactly sprung out of nowhere (even Jack’s mind isn’t creative enough to think up something quite this kinky), but he supposes it’s what he gets for watching old footage from the Fortune Cup. Some men get their inspiration from porn and centrefold girls. Jack gets his from card games.

Yusei’s wrists are bound above his head, his legs spread apart by the vines coiled tight around his upper thighs as smaller tendrils slither down his stomach and over his cock. He’s trembling all over, head back and moaning as another tendril creeps along his inner thigh and over his balls, inching further and further until it’s buried in his ass.

Yusei jerks, a helpless cry breaking past his lips. It’s soon muffled by a second vine worming its way inside his mouth, another one looping across his throat like a living necklace, another snaking the length of his torso as the tip nudges his nipples, the tendril that’s wrapped around his cock moving ceaselessly until Yusei comes all over himself with a stifled whimper.

Jack wakes up hard and feeling just a little bit dirty when he realises Yusei is still sleeping beside him in the bed, a peaceful and innocent expression on his face, a hand making its way to his crotch involuntarily as he palms himself through his shorts. He knows he ought to slip away to the bathroom where he can get himself off without disturbing Yusei, but then Yusei stirs and nestles closer, slipping an arm around Jack’s waist and Jack moves before he can stop himself, grunting as he rubs against Yusei’s hip.

Yusei opens his eyes, focusing them on Jack in the darkness of the room. “What’s wrong?” he asks, drowsy and disorientated.

Because Jack is pretty sure it would probably mean no more sex ever, at least not with Yusei if he opts for honesty and says something along the lines of, “I just had a dream of you getting screwed senseless by Izayoi’s tentacle monster,” so he takes the easy way out instead by choosing to protect his current lifestyle of getting laid on a regular basis, and lies.

“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

But Yusei is properly alert now and he’s quick to notice Jack’s hard-on (then again, it would be kind of difficult for him to miss it). He raises an eyebrow, looking faintly amused by Jack’s predicament. “You seem to be in need of some assistance.”

Coherent responses are not resident at the forefront of Jack’s brain after having been jolted out of what is possibly the sexiest and most disturbing thing he’s seen to date, but he tries to excuse himself anyway. “I’ll take care of it. You just get some rest.”

And Yusei needs it, because he spends most of his time messing about with machines and forgetting to give his body what it needs most, but he simply gives one of those soft, secret smiles that makes Jack’s heart melt a little bit (though he’ll never admit to it) and pushes gently at Jack’s chest until he’s lying on his back, Yusei down between his legs and tugging off his shorts.

Jack swallows, his mouth suddenly dry at the way Yusei licks his lips. “You don’t have to,” he says hoarsely. “Really you don’t.”

“Oh but I do,” says Yusei, lowering his mouth onto Jack’s cock and leaving him feeling like the worst boyfriend ever.

 

End.


	5. Five

Title: Wrong Impression  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

It was late. Rua didn’t particularly feel like going to bed yet but Ruka gave him a frown, already in her pyjamas and ready for sleep.

“I’m going to talk to Yusei for a bit,” he said, making his way toward the staircase. “I don’t feel tired.”

“It’s too late for you to be pestering him at this hour,” Ruka told him. “Just get some rest.”

Rua ignored her, too antsy to stay put, and too excited over the prospect of spending time alone with Yusei for a while. With any luck, he might even be able to talk him into having another duel. Grinning to himself, he trotted off downstairs to where he’d left Yusei earlier to work on his D-Wheel. The door was open slightly, letting some of the light from inside spill out into the darkness, and Rua wriggled easily through the gap.

His mouth, already open and ready to call Yusei’s name, slackened even further in shock at the sight that met his eyes.

Yusei wasn’t alone. Jack was there too, much to Rua’s surprise. Yusei was on his back, legs splayed with Jack between them, squirming under his weight and making helpless little noises.

Rua’s blood ran cold. The loss of Jack’s title as King had obviously sent him mad, and now he’d come to take his revenge on Yusei. Rua couldn’t see his face from where he stood, but he was sure Jack’s expression was crazed. Why else would he be biting Yusei’s neck? That was just dirty. Only girls fought by biting, scratching and pulling other people’s hair.

It was time for Rua to step in and take action if he wanted to protect his hero. Thankful he’d somehow managed to keep quiet all this time, he decided stealth was his only option if he wanted to defeat Jack.

Slowly creeping around the edge of the room, he reached out and carefully hefted a wrench into his grip. Then, sneaking step by step until he was close enough at last, he raised the spanner and brought it down hard. There was a grunt from Jack and a dull ‘thunk’ from where the spanner collided with the back of his skull, but it did the trick as, unconscious, he slumped heavily over Yusei.

“Whew, that was close,” said Rua in relief, kneeling down by Yusei’s side and checking him over for injuries. Aside from the bruises on his neck, he seemed fine, but Rua pressed ahead anyway. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Yusei didn’t say anything. Oddly enough, he looked rather embarrassed. Rua supposed he couldn’t blame him. Being mauled by a rabid lunatic would be enough to traumatise anyone. Rua sighed, eyeing Jack warily before grabbing onto his shoulder and attempting to roll him off of Yusei. Damn, he was heavy. No wonder Yusei had been struggling under him earlier. He weighed a ton.

“He must be insane,” Rua continued, grunting as he gave Jack another hard shove. Even out cold, he was still causing trouble. “What the heck was he thinking, attacking you like that?”

Yusei coughed. He seemed to have gone from embarrassed to awkward. “It’s not the sort of ‘attacking’ you might think.”

“Huh?” Rua didn’t get it, but the sound of his sister tactfully clearing his throat by the entrance caught his attention.

“What he means to say,” Ruka explained, wearing the same expression she always did whenever Rua had done something spectacularly stupid, “is that you, brother dearest, have interrupted them doing secret grown-up things together. You know,” she added, giving Yusei a meaningful stare. “*That* sort of stuff.”

“Eh?” Rua blinked. It didn’t make sense at first until he realised that the bruises Jack had left behind on Yusei’s neck were, in fact, hickeys. “Ehh?” Now he understood why they’d been in the position Rua found them in earlier, but it didn’t stop him from giving one last and drawn out “ehhh?”

Ruka shook her head, exasperated. “Boy, you sure are dense.”

“But... but...” Rua went bright red, unable to even look at Yusei anymore as he clamped his hands over his eyes. “I’m sorry!” he wailed. “I’m really, really sorry!”

Yusei was probably mad at him, and Jack would definitely be furious once he woke up and found out what Rua had done to him. Rua wondered gloomily if Jack would want to return the favour by hitting him with the same wrench Rua had knocked him out with. He had no doubt it would hurt.

He probably should have defended himself by saying that he only did it because he’d wanted to save Yusei, but it would only sound like he was making excuses. Rua lowered his hands to sneak a quick peek at Yusei, fully expecting and knowing he deserved some sort of reprimand for his behaviour. Astonishingly, Yusei had a tiny smile on his lips. He reached out to pat Rua’s head, ruffling his hair a little and leaving him confused.

“Thanks for looking out for me,” said Yusei.

Rua couldn’t bring himself to smile back. He felt too guilty. “I’m sorry for knocking Jack out,” he said, his voice small and subdued. “Please apologise to him for me when he comes to.”

Yusei nodded. Ruka yawned.

“You’re such a dummy, Rua,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “It’s all your fault for getting the wrong impression. You really need to learn how to read the atmosphere.” She gave another yawn. “Anyway, I’m going back to bed. So should you.” Waving at Yusei, she turned to head back upstairs. “Goodnight. See you in the morning.”

Rua shuffled his feet mournfully. “Sorry, Yusei,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to be a nuisance.”

“I know.” Yusei dragged Jack to his feet and over to where the battered old sofa in the corner stood. Thankfully, Rua couldn’t see any sign of blood in Jack’s fair hair, but he knew a pretty impressive bump would have formed on his head by morning. “Get some sleep.”

Rua nodded obediently, clearing off to give Yusei peace and quiet. Although he was starting to see the funny side now, out of all the uncool moments he’d ever suffered in the past, this one was easily the worst.

 

End.


	6. Six

Title: Out of the Blue  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG-13  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Jack, as usual, is the last to wake up in a morning. Crow is already off on his deliveries, which suits Jack just fine because he’s starting to get sick of being bitched at. Crow bitches about a lot of things when it comes to Jack, the way he uses up all the hot water whenever he showers, the way he never lifts a finger to clean or cook and the fact that he still hasn’t managed to hold down a job long enough yet to actually get paid.

It’s like living with a nagging wife, one that’s always getting onto Jack’s case about something or other. In comparison, Yusei is an absolute delight to be around, if only because he’s too busy working to acknowledge Jack’s presence. Being ignored also annoys Jack, but not nearly as much as being nagged. Besides, Yusei is much more lenient than Crow. He never complains about anyone or anything.

Yusei, when Jack walks into the garage, is tapping away on his computer keyboard, so engrossed in his programming that he neither hears nor greets him. There’s nothing new or different except for just one thing.

Yusei is wearing a schoolgirl uniform.

Jack recognises it vaguely as belonging to the duel academia, but that’s not what bothers him. He figures he isn’t fully awake yet and that he’s simply seeing things, so he gives his eyes a vigorous rub before focusing them once again on Yusei. For some strange reason, it doesn’t do anything to change the scene in front of him. Jack wonders if this is the result of eating too much expired food (it’s cheaper, Crow insists, and they can’t afford to be picky), or maybe all the explosions are starting to go to his head. He doesn’t think he’s going crazy. He feels perfectly sane, albeit fairly confused and bewildered.

It’s something of an outrageous theory, but there’s a possibility of Jack having accidentally wandered into an alternate dimension where this other world Yusei is a girl instead of a guy, but when Jack takes a closer inspection just to make sure (nope, no boobs, still male), he’s left wondering if the problem lies not with him but with his team mate.

Yusei works himself too hard. It leaves Jack wondering if all the stress he’s been through lately has given him the teenage equivalent of a midlife crisis, or maybe, just maybe, it’s the result of spending too much time with Rally. The kid has obviously infected Yusei with his gender confusion, but even so, it feels a bit sudden. Jack has known Yusei for years, and he’s sure any transvestite tendencies would have made themselves apparent long before now.

“You do realise that you’re wearing women’s clothing?” he says, just in case lack of sleep or dressing in the dark has caused Yusei to put the wrong outfit on by mistake, not that it explains where he got the uniform in the first place.

“Of course,” Yusei replies.

His response is so matter-of-fact and unconcerned that it leaves Jack even more puzzled, like it’s perfectly normal for him to be cross dressing out of the blue, like there’s nothing at all out of the ordinary. Jack isn’t quite sure what sort of reaction he’s been expecting, but he thinks embarrassment over being caught in such an awkward situation should be more appropriate than Yusei’s nonchalance.

Finally, Jack gets the story. He learns that Yusei’s clothes are missing because it’s been days since they were last washed, and that Zola has offered to do the chore for him.

Jack is fairly miffed upon hearing this, because the silly old wench has never offered to do his laundry before, but then again, Yusei has her wrapped around his little finger, not that he’s aware of it. She’s always cooing and fluttering her eyelashes at him while scowling at Jack and Crow for ‘being a bad influence on poor Yusei-chan’. (She obviously doesn’t know Yusei well enough yet if she still thinks butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.)

“I didn’t have anything else to wear in the meantime,” Yusei explains, “so I called Aki and asked to borrow her spare uniform.”

“Why didn’t you borrow something of mine?”

Yusei shrugs. “You hate people touching your stuff.”

“Yeah, but...” Jack trails off, not knowing what to say for a few seconds before finishing off with, “But it’s a *girl’s* uniform!”

“Aki didn’t seem to mind.”

Jack wants to tell him that this isn’t the point, that if he were the one in Yusei’s place, he’d have rather walk around naked than dress up like a woman, but Yusei obviously doesn’t have a problem with it.

Jack sighs. Yusei, assuming the conversation is over, goes back to his computer. There’s nothing but the sound of his typing while Jack, because he has nothing better to do, stands around and stares. While there isn’t that much of a difference in height between Yusei and Aki, her burgundy blazer does look a little tight around his shoulders. The white blouse seems to fit him well enough, as does the black pleated skirt and matching thigh high socks. He looks ridiculous, but also, Jack admits, sort of sexy (in a stupid kind of way, of course).

“It’s about time you bought some more clothes,” says Jack. As far as he knows, Yusei only has the one outfit, and he’s been practically living in it for the past god knows how many years now.

No wonder Zola went and did his laundry for him. Jack is well aware of how Yusei tends to forget such basic and important things as eating, sleeping and staying clean.

“We need the money for new parts,” Yusei says absently. “And food,” he adds after a moment, making the order in which he priorities these things perfectly clear.

Jack rolls his eyes. Life has vastly improved since the merging of Satellite and Neo Domino City, but they’re still living on inexpensive, past its best junk that’s about as far from nutritious as it’s possible to get.

Working together to achieve their dreams is fine, but Jack is still unhappy about the loss of his former kingly lifestyle. It’s not the lack of title that bothers him so much as the things that went away with it, such as huge hotel rooms equipped with equally enormous beds (nothing like the poky little closet-like space Jack has to put with these days), Olympic pool-sized bathtubs and gourmet feasts fit for royalty. The closest he gets to luxury these days is a cup of coffee in his favourite café, and he can’t even enjoy that anymore now that Crow knows exactly how much of their hard earned cash he spends there.

“Like it or not, we’re going to have to buy team outfits for the competition at some point,” Jack warns.

“I’ll worry about it when the time comes,” Yusei reassures him.

Jack doubts this, which is why he makes a mental note to say something to Crow when he gets back. The last thing they need is Yusei forgetting or leaving it until the last minute. Jack doesn’t think he’ll be able to shake away the mental image of Yusei wearing Aki’s uniform for a riding duel anytime soon, but he hopes even Yusei has enough sense not to go outside while he’s dressed the way he is. Jack supposes it’s fine while they’re indoors, away from the eyes of the general public. Crow will probably have a good laugh when he finds out, but Jack still having difficulty coming to the terms that, well, Yusei is wearing women’s clothing.

His gaze flickers back to Yusei’s skirt, noting that, unlike an actual female, Yusei is sitting not with his legs crossed (that would just be too weird) but with them slightly apart. It leaves Jack wondering what he has on underneath.

“Did Izayoi lend you anything else while she was here?” he asks.

Yusei doesn’t take the hint. “No. It wouldn’t have been fair to inconvenience her any further.”

No panties then, Jack thinks, disappointed. He decides there isn’t any harm in checking anyway, so he gives Yusei’s chair a little spin, turning him away from the computer to face him instead. Yusei starts to protest, but Jack cuts him off quickly by placing his hands on Yusei’s thighs and spreading them. It’s a pleasant surprise to find that he isn’t wearing any underwear at all, no panties, no shorts, no nothing.

“What are you doing?” Yusei cries, going red and pulling his skirt down in an attempt to preserve his modesty. It’s no fun at all, so Jack lifts him enough to take his place in the chair before settling Yusei down into his lap.

“I’m bored,” he announces, fixing Yusei with a sultry smirk. “Entertain me.”

Yusei looks as if he’d really rather punch him, but then Jack’s hand makes its way back to his thigh and squeezes. Yusei bites his lower hip, his glare fading in intensity as Jack’s fingers slowly inch upwards. “I have work to do,” he protests weakly.

“Then finish it later,” says Jack.

“Zola could walk in on us.”

“Do you think I give a damn?”

Yusei pauses, going over his options. He knows how stubborn Jack can be, and that ‘no’ is his least favourite word. Using it only makes him dig his heels in even more until he gets what he wants. Jack grins, fully aware that it’s only a matter of time before Yusei gives in. He’s always been proud of his pigheadedness. It’s a very useful personality trait to have when it comes to making someone else back down first.

Eventually Yusei relents. “Five minutes,” he says. “That’s all.”

“Sure,” Jack agrees, his grin widening. “Whatever you say.”

Five minutes become fifteen, which then turn into fifty but by this time, Jack is satisfied. Just looking at Yusei in his rumpled uniform (it won’t be going back to Aki’s wardrobe anytime soon, not unless Yusei can convince Zola to do another load of laundry for him), his flushed face and sated expression makes Jack feel smug all over again.

“Damn, I’m good,” he preens.

Yusei only glares. He’s too worn out to make a comeback.

 

End.


	7. Seven

Title: Not Like All the Other Girls  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/fem!Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: Genderswitch  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Jack wishes Yusei would take more care of her appearance. Girls are supposed to be clean, well manicured and smelling fragrantly of flowers or whatever other girly scents Jack tends to associate with them. Girls like to dress nicely, to look good and, most importantly, to stay clean.

Yusei is not like ordinary girls. She doesn’t mind getting dirty. She also doesn’t mind wearing the same clothes for days on end. Looking at her hands makes Jack want to sigh in dismay. They’re nearly always covered in oil from messing about with her D-Wheel. The nails are bitten down almost to the quick (one of Yusei’s bad habits), all ragged and unkempt and generally unladylike. If Yusei’s hands weren’t so small and slender, they could easily belong on a man instead. Her fingers are rough and callused, not soft and gentle like a girl’s should be.

Frustratingly for Jack, while it bothers him that Yusei is this way, Yusei doesn’t seem too concerned. Trying to be subtle doesn’t work. There’s no point dropping casual hints if Yusei has no interest in listening to them. Even being blunt and to the point has no effect. Yusei doesn’t want to change. Jack knows better than anyone how irritatingly stubborn she can be.

Jack always likes to look his best. He likes it when people take notice of him. Nobody notices Yusei, but this, she insists, is entirely the point. Jack purposely makes an effort to stand out from the crowd. Yusei doesn’t. It’s annoying and it drives Jack crazy, but that’s not even the worst part.

It’s summer now, the weather stiflingly hot, but the hideout where he finds Yusei is refreshingly dark and cool. She raises a hand in greeting, on her way out to look for spare parts, passing by Jack with a yawn that tells him she’s probably pulled yet another all-nighter. She really needs to stop with the stupid sleep patterns. It’s bad for her skin, not that the exposure to motorcycle grease and other such unpleasantness is doing her any good either.

“Don’t tell me you’re going out like that,” says Jack, narrowing his eyes.

“Like what?” asks Yusei. She sounds genuinely baffled, so Jack decides to make things clear.

“Like... like *that*,” he says, pointing at her ever present black and red tank top (trying not to shudder in the process because he doesn’t even want to think about how long it’s been since she last washed it).

Yusei glances down at her front, still not following. “I’m not putting on a jacket today. It’s too warm.”

Jack’s eyebrow starts to twitch. Yusei continues to stare at herself. She obviously has no idea what Jack is getting at.

The thing that really gets on Jack’s nerves is Yusei’s most annoying habit of all. For some reason, she never wears a bra. Jack knows enough about girls to know that they don’t just wear them in order to look pretty and please their men, that they’re there for support and to prevent the more well endowed females from developing bad back pain later on in life.

Jack doesn’t even bother pretending to be discreet as he fixes his eyes directly on Yusei’s chest. He can see the curves of her breasts intimately through the thin, clingy fabric, the outline of her stiff little nipples.

His eyebrow gives another twitch. Yusei just shrugs and turns to leave.

“Wait.” Jack shrugs out of his coat, drapes it over Yusei’s shoulders. “Wear this.”

“I don’t want to. It’s too hot.”

It’s also much too big, not to mention too pristine. When Jack thinks about where she’s going to go and what she’s about to do in it, he almost wants to weep. His coat doesn’t deserve to get dragged through the junk, but it’s still better than letting Yusei go without it.

“Just take it,” Jack snaps, his patience finally running out.

“Fine,” mutters Yusei, shrugging into what Jack considers one of his most precious possessions, the sleeves hanging down over her hands and the hem of the coat trailing on the floor behind her like the train on a wedding dress. “Why are you so insistent, anyway?”

It should be obvious, Jack thinks, that he doesn’t want anyone else looking at her the same way he does, but he keeps his mouth shut instead of speaking the words out loud.

Yusei lowers her gaze, trailing a thumb contemplatively over the collar of Jack’s coat. “Don’t expect me to wash it for you when it gets dirty.”

Jack notices how she says ‘when’ and not ‘if,’ as though it’s only a matter of time before his beloved coat begins to attract dirt simply from being on Yusei’s body. “I won’t,” he grunts, resigned. “I’ll clean it myself when you get back.”

Yusei gives a satisfied nod. “Right.” Jack is finally appeased as she draws the zipper into place, covering herself up. Already there are mucky fingerprints on the white fabric, but it’s a small price to pay. As long as it keeps her boobs safely out of sight, Jack can tolerate the sullying of his coat. “I’m off.”

“See you later,” Jack replies automatically, settling down on the couch with a tattered old newspaper to wait for her return.

It’s kind of annoying how he’s the one left watching the house, so to speak, like some sort of meek wife while Yusei goes off foraging, but it’s preferable to stay put than to witness the accumulation of grime on his poor coat.

He’ll be sure to lecture Yusei once she’s home, and maybe buy her a damn bra while he’s at it.

 

End.


	8. Eight

Title: Minor Adjustments  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/fem!Yusei  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: Genderswitch  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

Sequel to Not Like All the Other Girls.

~~

With Yusei asleep on the battered old sofa at her hideout, Jack’s gaze, as seems to be the case these days, finds itself inevitably drawn to her chest. He’s not ogling her. Well, at least not very much. He has a task to carry out, and an important one at that. Unfortunately, the first obstacle on his mission to make Yusei wear a bra is that Jack has no idea what size she is. He doubts Yusei herself knows, or even cares for that matter.

As he hovers over her awkwardly, an image of Crow pops up into his head, leering away like a miniature devil on Jack’s shoulder.

“Go on,” imaginary Crow tells him. “Cop a feel. She’ll never know.”

Jack doesn’t. He has more restraint than that, and in any case, a King must always be respectful to a lady, even if that lady happens to be Yusei. Besides, knowing his luck, Yusei would probably pick the moment Jack reaches out to grope her to wake up. The last thing his good looks need is a fist to the face.

And so, Jack is forced to improvise with a bit of string and a lot of guesswork before setting off on his quest to acquire lingerie. Eventually he finds something plain and white and functional, nothing at all that suits his tastes personally, but will at least serve its intended purpose.

He can just imagine Yusei’s reaction if he brought her something lacy or frilly. Yusei doesn’t like frivolous things. Jack does, especially when it comes to lady’s underwear, which is why he entertains himself for a moment by picturing Yusei in bed (a proper one with a mattress and pillows and crisp clean sheets, not the sofa she usually sleeps on or, worse still, the floor) and clad in nothing but her underwear, the sheets cast aside in the blistering summer heat.

In Jack’s mind, he sees her dressed in a matching black silk bra and panties, her eyes opening to greet him, making her look sleepy and vulnerable and inviting as she beckons him over to join her.

That’s when Jack finds himself regretfully returning to reality because the Yusei he knows would never do such a thing. Just like her refusal to wear a bra, he can’t imagine her actually agreeing to don something as feminine and aesthetically pleasing as a pair of panties made from any material that isn’t unappealing and inexpensive. Yusei being the way she is, she probably wears shorts to make Jack’s life that little bit more miserable.

Yusei, when Jack arrives, is already up and sitting at the computer, her slim fingers flying nimbly across the keyboard in a manner that reminds Jack of a musician playing an instrument. It’s one of the few activities that make Yusei appear somewhat graceful and elegant, or at least it would do if only she didn’t sit with her shoulders hunched up and her face about an inch away from the screen.

Jack clears his throat to get her attention. Yusei either ignores him or doesn’t hear him, so Jack leans in and taps her on the shoulder.

“Here,” he says, dangling the bag he’s carrying in front of her eyes in order to tear them away from the monitor. “I brought you something.”

Yusei blinks, taking the bag and opening it. Her expression tells Jack she isn’t terribly impressed with the contents. “It’s not very useful, is it?” she says.

Jack has to remind himself that this is Yusei, and that she’s not just any average girl. She isn’t trying to annoy him on purpose, or at least he hopes not. She isn’t malicious or petty enough for that, although her one-track mind can cause her to be incredibly dense.

Yusei picks up the bra with a frown, staring at it like she’s never actually seen one before, like it’s something alien that’s dropped into her lap from outer space. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Putting it on might help,” Jack replies dryly.

Yusei tilts her head, her expression thoughtful. “Right now?” she asks.

“Well, yes.”

“Right here?”

Jack grits his teeth. Anyone else and he’d be sure they were pissing him off on purpose. “No,” he says. “You have to go away to wherever it is that you usually get changed. Then you can put it on.”

Yusei hesitates, glancing first at the bra, then back at the computer screen and then at Jack. At last she relents, stuffing the bra back into its bag and disappearing around the corner. Jack keeps his back turned anyway just in case. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do by giving Yusei some additional privacy, but Yusei is no lady. She also appears to be somewhat lacking in common sense when she returns a couple of minutes later.

“I don’t like it,” she announces. “It’s too tight and uncomfortable.”

Jack nearly has a nosebleed when he finds Yusei naked from the waist up apart from the bra he’s given her. He assumes she would have thrown something on over it first, her tank top or maybe a tee shirt, but then Yusei isn’t what anyone would consider normal.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jack splutters, his face turning even redder as Yusei slips her thumbs under the straps and gives them a twang.

“It doesn’t fit,” she tells him.

Jack wants to argue that it isn’t his fault, that she should be the one to take the blame for not knowing something as simple as her own bust measurements, that she should be more grateful after all he’s been through on her behalf, dammit, but he coughs instead and gestures for her to move closer.

“Come here,” he orders. “Turn around.” Yusei does so. Jack leans down to get a better look. There are three different fastenings, and Yusei has it on the tightest one. He explains to her what she needs to do in order to adjust it.

“What a pain,” she sighs. She sounds like she’d much rather be messing about with the computer than trying out underwear. “Can’t you do something about it?”

Jack makes another funny spluttering sound. “Are you serious?”

Yusei frowns at him from over her shoulder. “Fine, I’ll take it off then.”

“Wait!” Jack isn’t about to let her get away this easily, so he reaches out with a shaking hand. “Hold still.”

He tries to stay calm, reminds himself that he’s only adjusting Yusei’s bra for her, nothing more, but as with everything that involves Yusei, things are nothing like the way they should be. Men are supposed to assist women with getting them out of their lingerie, not helping them into it.

He touches Yusei’s back accidentally as he struggles to unhook the bra, biting his lip when he realises how warm her skin feels. She doesn’t even flinch, but Jack can’t keep his fingers steady. He swears under his breath, wondering how something so harmless and inoffensive could be so difficult to undo. “Didn’t Martha ever teach you this stuff?” he grumbles.

“Hmm.” Yusei’s response is noncommittal. “I was too busy learning other things.”

Like how to hack into other people’s computers without getting caught or how to build a D-Wheel from scratch, Jack thinks, but he stays silent long enough to concentrate on his job.

He feels ridiculously triumphant when he succeeds in getting the bra undone, but then he panics when it starts to slide down Yusei’s shoulders. He makes a grab for it before it can fall off completely, mumbling an apology when he touches Yusei again without meaning to and sighing in relief when he fastens the bra onto its loosest setting.

“There. Is that better?”

“I suppose.” Yusei moves before Jack can get out of the way, his hand brushing against her left breast. His fingers close around it reflexively, making Yusei give a little moan of surprise.

Jack snatches his hand back guiltily. An ordinary girl would probably scream and slap him and call him a pervert, but not Yusei. He can practically see the gears inside her head springing into motion, thinking this new development through, working out the logistics of the situation. He’s still not sure what kind of reaction to expect, but he figures it’s probably safe to assume it’ll be a violent one where Yusei either brings a knee up between his legs or hits him with a wrench.

“You just felt me up,” accuses Yusei, feeling some sort of need, for whatever reason, to state the obvious.

“It was an accident,” Jack says hastily, though he neglects to mention what a pleasant one it was. “A mistake.”

“A mistake?” Yusei echoes. She doesn’t sound sceptical to Jack’s ears. Maybe she believes him.

“That’s right.”

Yusei pauses to ponder this. Then, to Jack’s astonishment, she replaces his hand with her own, cupping her breast and giving it a squeeze. The noise Jack makes this time is a cross between a whimper and a gurgle.

“It feels different when I do it,” she comments, her expression as deadpan as ever.

“How so?” Jack croaks.

Yusei ponders some more. “It’s not as good.”

Jack’s jaw drops when Yusei takes his hand and guides it to her other breast. It fits perfectly into his palm. His fingers twitch, moving on their own to mimic Yusei’s earlier actions and squeeze. Yusei’s breath hitches softly, mouth parted, eyes half-lidded. Jack swallows hard, unable to decide whether to keep his eyes on her face or on her chest, so Yusei makes the decision for him.

“I believe this would be the part where you’re supposed to kiss me,” she says helpfully.

She looks like she wants to be kissed, which is good because Jack probably looks like he wants to kiss her. Even Yusei isn’t so oblivious that she can’t recognise desire when she sees it.

Jack’s conscience picks a really lousy moment to kick in, but he still can’t help feeling like he’s talking advantage of her somehow, even though he knows better than anyone that Yusei can take care of herself.

“Are you sure?” he presses. “You’re not supposed to want this.”

“Why not?” asks Yusei.

“Because... because...”

Because Yusei is, well, *Yusei*, the girl who might as well be a boy, the girl that Jack actually thought *was* a boy the first time they met, the girl who doesn’t act like any other female Jack has ever known because, in spite of her attractiveness, she’s always seemed completely asexual and uninterested when it comes to indulging in typical teenage activities.

Of course, Jack doesn’t tell her any of this, if only because he’s afraid it might be insulting enough to make Yusei change her mind.

“You should kiss me,” Yusei advises, her deadpan expression back in place, “while I still feel like being kissed. I can’t wait forever. I have plenty of work to be getting on with, you know.”

She really is pissing off Jack on purpose this time, so he gives them what they’ve both been wanting and kisses her. Because it feels so good he does it again, then again, and then again.

In the end, Yusei never does get round to finishing her work.

 

End.


	9. Nine

Title: Then and Now  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/fem!Yusei  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: Genderswitch  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

Sequel to Not Like All the Other Girls and Minor Adjustments.

~~

Yusei occupies Jack’s thoughts more than she really ought to these days. Having her in his life again after being apart for so long takes some getting used to, as does the equally unanticipated loss of his title as King, but Yusei is never far from Jack’s mind. She brings all the many memories of his old life flooding back.

One of them stands out in particular, and it leads Jack to repeat the very same actions he once took all those months ago.

This time it’s different, if only because Jack is in disguise. As much as he dislikes not attracting other people’s attention, he realises that, if he wants to accomplish his current mission, he has to keep a low profile. The hat, scarf and sunglasses help, as does the fact that he’s wearing black, the opposite of his signature colour.

With this, Jack is sure nobody will ever recognise him, but as he walks through the doors of one of the shopping mall department stores to make his way to the lingerie section, he finds himself wondering if being incognito is all it’s cracked up to be. The shop assistants, rather than approaching him with the intent of talking him into spending all his cash, keep a cautious distance.

Jack flashes them a reassuring smile as if to say “ignore me, I’m perfectly normal and non threatening”. For some reason, this fails to achieve the desired effect. It only makes the shop assistants more nervous. The last thing Jack needs is for them to get even more spooked and call for security or sound the panic alarm, so he decides to get straight down to business.

He still remembers Yusei’s measurements. Finding a bra in her size takes no trouble at all. The real difficulty comes from Jack being presented with such a dazzling array of women’s underwear that he’s spoiled for choice. There are bras in every colour of the rainbow and in every kind of fabric imaginable.

Because blue always makes him think of Yusei, Jack isn’t surprised when he gravitates toward it, but that’s only the beginning. There are so many different shades of blue available that it starts to make his head spin, azure, cerulean, cobalt, navy, sapphire, the list goes on forever.

In the end, Jack settles on royal blue because of the name, but after that comes the next challenge of figuring out which material he likes best. Thankfully, the following options are considerably more limited, with either cotton, lace, satin or silk for him to choose from.

He goes with silk because it’s the most expensive and feels nicest to the touch, not that Jack goes around stroking lingerie on a regular basis, but he sees the other shoppers around him doing the same thing (all of them female, obviously) so he figures it’s okay.

The shop assistants, however, don’t appear to agree with him, but then Jack supposes he probably does look kind of shady, a man all on his own, standing around and fondling underwear.

Just in case they think he’s a shoplifter or a cross dressing weirdo, he gives them another smile to set their minds at ease. “For the wife,” he lies.

Oddly enough, they don’t seem to believe him.

~~

Yusei’s expression, when presented with Jack’s offering, is unreadable. It leaves Jack thinking she might actually be angry with him. Yusei being the way she is, she’s probably more pissed over him spending as much money on underwear as it would cost to feed a bunch of orphaned kids in Satellite for a month than the whole betrayal thing and stealing Stardust.

Then again, women are notorious for their ability to hold a grudge, but Jack reminds himself that this is Yusei, and that she’s no more normal now than she was back then.

Maybe it’s because Yusei has never seen silk before, or maybe it’s because this is the first time she’s been given anything so expensive. Jack just doesn’t know. It’s times likes these when he kind of resents Yusei for possessing all of about three expressions. Her poker face gives nothing away.

“Jack,” she says patiently, “it’s been two years since we last saw each other.”

“And?” Jack doesn’t understand what this has to do with anything. Maybe he’s wrong to assume she forgives him for everything. Maybe she is carrying a grudge against him after all.

“Two years,” Yusei repeats.

Jack frowns. Then he looks at Yusei, really looks at her. At last he understands what she’s getting at. “Oh.”

Yusei raises an eyebrow. “Oh, indeed.”

It’s strange how Yusei can laugh at Jack without actually opening her mouth to make the required sound. Stranger still is how she manages to express her amusement at his idiocy by remaining utterly expressionless. It’s a skill only Yusei could master. It also serves to remind Jack how different the two of them are.

When Jack gets angry, he makes sure everyone around him knows it. He stamps and yells and throws things because, as much as he hates to admit it, he can be very childish sometimes when it comes to taking his temper out on the nearest available target. When he finds something funny, he feels no need to contain his loud and booming laughter, especially if it’s in order to mock people.

Yusei never mocks anyone, not even Jack, even though he probably deserves to be laughed at sometimes.

While Yusei may not have changed mentally, she has done physically. She’s filled out more, not quite as skinny as she once was, and – Jack turns red, feeling more embarrassed than he really should – her boobs are considerably bigger.

There’s no way Jack’s present purchase is going to fit her now.

“Well, crud,” he says, eloquent as ever.

There’s no point at all remembering Yusei’s old measurements if her new ones are completely different. It makes Jack wonder how he could have failed to foresee this little problem, but then hindsight, as always, is 50-50.

“Still,” Yusei comments, casting another glance at Jack’s gift, “I guess I should be grateful. It’s a good thing you got me into the habit of wearing proper support. Riding duels would be a lot more troublesome without it.”

With those words, Jack can’t help picturing a braless Yusei duelling on her D-Wheel, her unbound breasts bouncing around under her tank top with every bump in the road like puppies wriggling in a sack.

It’s a very pleasing mental image, but sadly not one Jack can afford to indulge in. He doesn’t exactly feel like returning his purchase when he could forgo the unnecessary humiliation by just throwing it away, but Yusei surprises him with a small smile.

“I take it you had enough sense to keep the receipt?” she asks.

“The what?” says Jack. His brain is still struggling to process the fact that Yusei is actually smiling at him. It even draws his attention away from her chest for a moment.

(He’s only staring for comparison purposes, he insists, to come to terms with how much the Yusei of the past differs from the Yusei of the present, and totally not because she has a more impressive rack than he recalls.)

“The receipt,” Yusei tells him. “You know, for the exchange of one item for another.”

Jack blinks. Yusei is talking to him about something, but Jack can’t really hear her over the jumbled mess inside his brain. ‘Smile, Yusei is smiling,’ he thinks, which is closely followed by, ‘breasts,’ and ‘wait, does this mean she’s forgiven me?’ and then finally, ‘wow, breasts.’

“Um,” Jack says, frantically attempting to make sense of the words coming from Yusei’s mouth. He shakes his head, concentrates very hard on keeping his eyes fixed on Yusei’s face instead of letting them slide down any lower before adding, “Oh right, the receipt. Yeah, I’ve still got it.”

Then the true meaning of what Yusei is saying sinks in. It takes a while, but then Jack and subtlety, much like oil and water, just don’t mix.

Suddenly he’s a lot more eager to go back to the store than he was a few minutes ago.

“Incidentally,” Jack says, keeping his voice casual on purpose, pretending not to be interested when clearly he is, “what size are you now?”

Yusei won’t tell him. It’s not until much later when Jack eventually finds out.

 

End.


	10. Ten

Title: A Matter of Motivation  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

The main problem with leaving the door to the garage open most hours is that people tend to wander in unannounced, acquaintances and strangers alike, either because they have business with the current residents or simply because they’re attracted by all the noise and commotion (a few of the neighbours have even taken to peering in through the windows on their way past, like they’re expecting a free show to take place).

Jack has only just sat down at the table to relax with his newspaper and morning coffee when the sound of Martha’s voice calling out “Anybody home?” makes him jump to his feet in alarm.

The garage is a mess, which is nothing out of the ordinary, and if there’s one thing Martha hates it’s lack of order and cleanliness. The look on her face when Jack hurries downstairs to greet her is one of extreme disapproval as she casts a stern glance at her surroundings.

“I thought I’d come to check on you three,” she says, holding out the shopping bags she’s brought with her for Jack to take. “It’s a good thing I did.” Then she turns her gaze critically to the windows. “When was the last time these were washed?”

It’s a question Jack doesn’t have to think hard to answer, but one that makes Martha’s expression darken when she hears it. “Since before we moved in?” he hazards.

“And how, exactly, have they managed to get so filthy?”

“That would be from all the explosions,” Jack says helpfully.

Martha purses her lips. “You’d better not be causing Zola too much trouble.”

In all honesty, Jack doesn’t give a damn about the old wench’s opinions (he doesn’t see the problem as long as they keep up with the rent payments), and anyway, they just get Yusei to give her the puppy eyes whenever she starts ranting on about their delinquent tendencies.

Naturally, he doesn’t tell Martha any of this. Jack has spent enough time with her in the past to know when to keep his mouth shut.

“Is Crow at work?” Martha asks. Jack nods. “He’s a good boy, that one. Unlike you,” she adds, poking Jack’s chest. “I take it you still haven’t got yourself a job yet?”

“I’ve had plenty,” Jack replies, matter-of-fact. “I take pride in the fact that I never once quit any of them.”

“Only because you got fired first. Crow told me all about it.”

Jack fumes silently, making a mental note to yell at Crow when he gets back for talking too much and to mind his own business, but Martha apparently has more important things on her mind.

“Where’s Yusei?”

Jack guides her to the place where he usually tends to be these days, in front of the computer and so absorbed in his task he doesn’t even notice when Martha calls his name. Jack has to shake his shoulder to get his attention, a faint flicker of panic on his face when he realises who their guest is.

“Hello, Martha,” he says politely, eyes darting around the garage as though only just noticing the state it’s in. “It’s very kind of you to visit us like this.”

Martha frowns at the computer. “You do take frequent breaks when using that thing, right? I hope you don’t spend hours glued in front of it, because that would be horribly unhealthy.”

Yusei averts his gaze, a sure sign that he’s being economical with the truth. Like Jack and all the other kids who have ever been under Martha’s care, he’s never been able to lie to her. “Of course,” he mumbles. “Frequent breaks. Yes, I understand.”

The fact that even Yusei doesn’t get to escape from Martha’s lectures should be amusing to Jack, but judging by the look of sheer determination she’s wearing, he knows she’s not through with them yet.

A quick visit to the kitchen makes her suck in her bottom lip the way she always does when she’s particularly unhappy about something, but then the mountain of old take-out boxes and empty cup ramen containers probably have something to do with it.

Dirty mugs and dishes are placed wherever there is space, the refrigerator is practically empty (Crow doesn’t get paid for another couple of days yet, and they’re starting to run low on milk) and there are rags and towels strewn around carelessly.

Still, it could be worse. At least they aren’t attracting flies yet.

Martha takes in a deep breath, lets it out slowly and then places her hands on her hips. “Jack, you’re doing the laundry. Yusei, you’re helping me give this place a good scrubbing. After that, I’ll show the two of you how to make something healthy and nutritious. Eating so much junk can’t be good.”

“The hell?” Jack is so taken-aback by what he’s just heard that he forgets to watch his language. “You mean you didn’t come here to make us something yourself?”

Martha shakes a finger. “You know what they say,” she replies. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Jack doesn’t really understand the point of the exercise, but Martha is already shooing him away to make a start on his assignment. He only dares to bitch about it once she’s out of earshot, grumbling under his breath about female slave drivers and the unfairness of making him do something as terrible as cleaning Crow’s dirty underwear.

It takes him three trips in total to get the job done (lugging bed linen for three people all the way and back to the laundrette is a chore in and of itself) but, resentment aside, Jack knows he’s gotten off easy. He’d much rather be doing laundry than having to clean their hovel of a garage. It’s why he makes sure to be extra leisurely, just in case he gets back too soon and Martha makes him help out scouring the bathroom or something.

He returns to find the windows wide open and sparkling (all the better for their neighbours and other random passers by to get a look in) and the garage has the overpowering scent of lemon. The kitchen is spic and span, and Jack can actually see the sideboards for once. The refrigerator is also well stocked with Martha’s groceries, but Jack’s ordeal is far from over.

“Right,” says Martha, ushering Jack into place beside Yusei at the chopping board. “We’re going to make some stew. You can begin by peeling the vegetables.”

Jack reaches for a potato reluctantly, only picking up the knife when Martha gives him a nudge with her elbow. What ought to be easy in theory turns out to be difficult in practise, especially since Jack has never actually peeled a potato before, and he’s forced to retire temporarily when his fingers become covered in cuts.

Martha tends to them in exasperation, wondering aloud why he can’t do something as simple as preparing such basic ingredients, leaving Jack to sulk as she patches him up with band aids.

It’s soon back to work though, this time on the onions. It’s probably the least glamorous thing Jack has ever done, eyes stinging, nose running, and it annoys him to see Yusei make it look so easy. Then again, Yusei is a genius capable of pretty much anything, so cooking is no big deal for him.

It feels oddly domestic to be doing something like this, to create a meal that they’ll both be consuming later from scratch (assuming it doesn’t poison them first), and Martha seems to approve.

“Isn’t this nice?” she says. “It’s the simple things in life that make it so enjoyable. Working together, cooking together, eating together. It’s what brings people closer.”

Jack sniffs, not from being moved by Martha’s words, but from the onion still stinging his eyes. He doesn’t ever want to go near the damn things again.

Yusei, on the other hand, gives a small smile. He appears to be enjoying himself. It makes Jack think that Martha might have a point. He doesn’t remember sitting down to eat a meal with Yusei, not since Jack prefers to eat at regular times while Yusei only eats when he’s hungry, just like he only sleeps when he’s tired and on the verge of passing out from exhaustion.

It might not be so bad after all. A well-fed Yusei is a happy Yusei, and a happy Yusei gives Jack the attention that he needs instead of channelling most of his energy and devotion into his computer and his D-Wheel.

What’s more, they now have clean, crisp sheets, perfect for having sex on. Jack’s sour mood improves at the thought.

“Thanks, Martha,” he says grandly, taking her hand and kissing it. “Without you, we never would have realised the error of our ways.”

Martha swats him aside with a roll of her eyes. “Stop trying to BS me, Jack. I know you’re going to go right back to your old ways as soon as I’m gone. I give it... oh, another day and a half before this place starts looking how it did when I first arrived.”

Damn, busted, Jack thinks, but Yusei surprises him by coming to his rescue.

“Jack’s right,” he says quietly, “and so are you, Martha. It is nice to be close to someone, as well as cherishing what’s truly important.”

Martha’s face softens, and Yusei isn’t even buttering her up on purpose. He’s just being his usual sincere self. No wonder middle-aged women love him so much. It’s his earnestness that makes them go so googly-eyed, his ability to say the right thing at the right time (nothing like Jack, who has an exceptional talent for putting his foot in his mouth by saying all the wrong things at precisely the wrong times).

“Take care of each other,” she says, touching a fond hand to Yusei’s cheek. “I know you will. You’re my boys after all.”

“Men,” Jack corrects haughtily.

“Boys,” says Martha, the sternness returning. Jack wishes she wouldn’t talk like that. It makes him feel about eight years old again.

The stew turns out to be unexpectedly tasty, not that Martha stays to eat it with them. The kids at the orphanage are waiting for her, so she says her goodbyes. Jack finishes first, but then Yusei has always been a slow eater, something that used to annoy Jack as a kid.

“Good?” he asks.

Yusei nods, solemn. “Better than take-out.”

Jack has to agree, but he doubts a home cooked meal will be enough to tempt him into being unfaithful to his beloved instant noodles, not when it requires so much time and energy. He briefly entertains the idea of hiring themselves a maid before dismissing it just as quickly at the thought of Crow’s inevitable reaction to something what Jack knows he’ll consider to be a waste of money.

Still, it does feel kind of a shame to only be able to eat something so delicious just the once.

“I guess we won’t be having this again,” Jack sighs, eyeing the remaining stew wistfully.

Yusei glances up. “Why not?”

Jack is confused by the response. “It’s just as Martha said, isn’t it? About how we’re only going to go back to our old ways once the novelty of such a habitable environment wears off?”

Yusei takes another mouthful of stew, swallows and asks, “Would you like to eat this again?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to do it over.” Jack stares. Yusei shrugs. “I memorised the recipe. It wasn’t exactly complicated. I’m sure I could learn some other stuff too.”

He’s doing it again, saying the right thing at the right time, making up for Jack’s lack of willingness to put in some effort by picking up his slack, and while he may be lazy, he does at least know how to show his appreciation.

“If you do, I shall reward you handsomely,” he announces, flashing Yusei a grin so bright his teeth are positively sparkling, “with myself.”

Yusei’s lips twitch. “And that’s supposed to motivate me?”

“It is when you’re cherishing what’s truly important,” Jack says slyly, throwing Yusei’s earlier words right back at him.

Now Yusei’s smile is a fully-fledged one, albeit tinged with amusement gained at Jack’s expense. “Sounds like someone’s being awfully presumptuous.”

But Jack, as usual, gets exactly what he wants, and it’s not much longer before their freshly laundered sheets end up getting dirty all over again.

 

End.


	11. Eleven

Title: Paying For the Privilege  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG-13  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

It’s much too warm for sheets tonight. Yusei kicks them down towards the bottom of the bed, glancing at the tiny window that’s open as far as it will go, but since there’s no breeze, it doesn’t make things any more bearable. The mattress dips under Jack’s weight, making Yusei groan and roll over onto his side so that he’s facing in the opposite direction.

“What’s with that reaction?” Jack sounds annoyed. Yusei doesn’t care.

“No snuggling,” he murmurs. “Too hot.”

Because Jack doesn’t like being told no, and because he doesn’t like being denied what he wants, he flops down next to Yusei, shifting closer until they’re pressed flush against each other, Yusei’s back to Jack’s chest.

Yusei groans again, squirming half-heartedly. “Jack...”

Now Jack’s voice conveys amusement. “What is it, Yusei?” His body throws off heat like a furnace, sweat already breaking out over Yusei’s skin.

“I just took a shower.”

“So?” One of Jack’s arms slides around his waist, pinning him firmly in place. “There’s nothing to stop you from having another one later.”

Yusei gives up his attempt to put some distance between them. The bed isn’t big enough anyway. “It’s not good to waste water.” It also isn’t good to waste energy, which is why he chooses to just stay still, Jack’s palm resting heavy on his stomach.

He sighs, the sound of it soft and resigned, thinking wistfully of air conditioning units, but they don’t have the money for such luxuries. What little they do earn gets put towards the WRGP tournament, leaving whatever happens to be leftover on a diet of coffee and cup ramen.

Yusei reminds himself that he ought to be grateful for what he has, that the summers in Satellite used to be so much worse, that he has things like clean, running water, a permanent place of residence and a reasonably comfortable bed to make life easier.

Even then, it doesn’t make him feel any less lethargic, but Jack seems oblivious to Yusei’s discomfort. There’s only one thing on his mind, and he makes it perfectly clear when his mouth finds its way to Yusei’s bare shoulder. He’s everywhere, his hands, his lips, his warmth, his scent, overwhelming, inescapable and absolutely maddening.

“You taste good,” breathes Jack, the words low and intimate as he reaches Yusei’s neck.

“And you’re a horny bastard,” Yusei mumbles back.

Jack laughs, the sound of it deep and throaty, pushing Yusei down onto his stomach and settling his weight on top of him. “I don’t hear you complaining.”

There’s no point. Jack wouldn’t listen anyway. Besides, the experience isn’t entirely unpleasant, and it’s not like he’s the only one getting something out of it. Yusei gasps when he feels the hard line of Jack’s cock, lifting up just enough for Jack to tug his shorts off.

It’s an odd reversal of roles, one that leaves Yusei lying back and letting someone else do all the work for once, while Jack takes care of everything else (whether Yusei wants him to or not).

“If only you’d use some of that passion for finding a job,” sighs Yusei, only half teasing, because, unlike Crow, he doesn’t really mind Jack’s lack of contribution when it comes to bringing the three of them another step closer to their dream. He’s soft on him, lets him do as he pleases, and Jack knows this all too well, using it often to his advantage.

“As I’ve explained before,” says Jack, dropping kisses over the nape of Yusei’s neck, “there are no vacancies out there suitable for someone of my status.”

“And just what kind of work would you consider yourself to be worthy of?”

“This kind of work.” Jack rocks his hips, drawing a faint moan from Yusei’s throat.

“I believe that would be what most people refer to as prostitution,” Yusei tells him breathlessly.

“Idiot,” Jack mutters, giving Yusei a sharp nip with his teeth and making him jerk. “Like I’d ever do this with anyone other than you.”

It’s one of those rare moments where Jack says something that’s honest and sincere and endearing, and it warms Yusei’s heart to hear it. Jack isn’t usually in the habit of whispering sweet nothings (the closest he ever gets is dirty talk), nor does he enjoy entertaining the notion of ‘girly, emotional crap,’ but it leaves Yusei smiling into his pillow regardless.

“That’s fine,” he says, reaching behind him to take Jack’s wandering hand into his own. “But only as long as you don’t expect me to start paying for the privilege.”


	12. Twelve

Title: End Result  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Jack doesn’t bother looking at the clock on his bedside table when he wakes up. All he knows is that it’s still dark and some ungodly hour as he heads downstairs to the kitchen for a drink, and all he can hear is he pours himself a glass of water is the sound of Bruno’s snores. It eventually annoys him so much that he stamps his way down the ladder instead of going back to bed, determined to shut Bruno up either by punching him awake or by gagging him, Jack isn’t bothered which.

Bruno isn’t alone on the couch, however, and Jack would wonder just how the heck Yusei manages to sleep through all the snoring if only the sight of him lying with his head in Bruno’s lap, his jacket draped over Yusei’s shoulders, didn’t immediately make him see red.

Jack’s fist meets Bruno’s face, jolting him into alertness with a snort and a mumbled “whazzat?”

Ignoring Bruno, Jack leans down to shake Yusei’s shoulder (being considerably more gentle about it) until he opens his eyes. “Yusei, get up,” he orders.

Yusei does so, pushing himself into a sitting position and fixing Jack with a bleary-eyed stare. “Is it time to go back to work?”

“No, idiot,” Jack tells him, grabbing his arm and hauling him to his feet. “It’s time to go to bed.” He gives Bruno a kick on his way out, the startled yelp and wounded puppy dog look on his face leaving Jack feeling slightly less pissed off than he was five minutes ago, but it doesn’t take away his irritation completely as he manhandles Yusei to his room. “You’ve got his scent all over you,” he complains.

“Bruno doesn’t smell,” Yusei protests mildly.

“Yes he does. He reeks of stupid.”

It isn’t quite true, and Yusei smells the way he’s always done when Jack takes a sniff of his hair, a hint of sweat and musk and motor oil, but he’s edgy from what he saw earlier and on a mission to erase every trace of Bruno from Yusei’s body.

He’s about to demand that Yusei take a shower, but then decides against it when he sees him swaying on his feet in the doorway. He’s afraid Yusei might fall asleep and drown if he tries to wash himself in his current state, so Jack is forced to make do with a quick fix by stripping him down to his shorts – reminding himself to bully Crow into doing laundry duty in the morning – and dousing him with cologne, the insanely expensive kind that he secretly uses Crow’s hard earned money to pay for.

(It’s all Crow’s fault for not keeping a better eye on his finances, Jack reasons, because there’s no need at all for him to be guilty when Crow can’t even keep track of his own incomings and Jack’s outgoings.)

Yusei wrinkles his nose, a bit disgruntled, but Jack can hardly bring himself to care. Yusei smells like him now, not of Bruno or even of himself, just Jack. “This stuff is way too strong,” he grumbles, furrowing his brow. “People will be able to smell me a mile off.”

Jack pretends not to hear him, instead wrestling Yusei into his prized pair of white silk pyjamas (not purchased out of Crow’s wages, but a keepsake from his days as the king of riding duels). They’re too big for him, the sleeves of the top hanging down over his hands and the legs of the bottoms tripping him up when Jack steers him in the direction of the bed, but they’re a million times better than Bruno’s crappy jacket, if only because the pyjamas are *Jack’s*, and now they’re on Yusei, effectively marking him as the property of a certain Mr Atlas.

“Much better,” announces Jack, satisfied at last.

Yusei yawns, choking a little on the overpowering scent of Jack’s cologne when he inhales too deeply. “You’re being even weirder than usual tonight,” he comments, sitting down on the edge of the mattress.

Any other time and Jack would have bristled, but he’s too busy pushing Yusei onto his back. Yusei gives a faint ‘oof’ as Jack’s weight settles over him, driving the air out of his lungs. “You have nobody to blame except yourself,” says Jack, pushing himself up on his elbows so that he isn’t crushing Yusei completely anymore. “Stop falling asleep on other people, dammit.”

“I didn’t,” murmurs Yusei, sinking deeper into the pillows. “Last thing I remember, I was sitting in front of the computer. Bruno must have moved me, I suppose. He’s nice like that.”

Jack’s snort is sceptical. “He’s a moron. Next time I see him, I’m going to run him over with my D-Wheel.”

“Don’t be so mean,” Yusei chides. “Bruno contributes a lot to what we’re doing for the WRGP.” He doesn’t add ‘more than you do, anyway,’ but the faint smile on his lips and the silence that falls over them afterwards implies it.

Jack humphs, giving the side of Yusei’s neck a nip for his cheekiness. Then, because he likes the mark that’s left behind, he closes his mouth over it in a kiss and sucks until it grows and darkens, making Yusei squirm underneath him.

“Jack,” he warns, obviously not too thrilled at the idea of sporting a hickey for everyone to see, but Jack reacts by going conveniently deaf once more, as he often tends to do whenever people tell him what he doesn’t want to hear.

Drawing back to admire the end result, Jack decides to add a second bruise on the other side of Yusei’s neck to match the first one, partly because the symmetry of it appeals to him, but also because he can’t get enough of the taste of Yusei’s skin.

“Jack,” Yusei says again, but it’s more of a moan than anything, and it makes Jack grin.

His mood is much happier now, so, in an act of uncharacteristic generosity, he figures it’s only fair for him to share some of it with Yusei.

 

End.


	13. Thirteen

Title: Making Do  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Crow is pissed again, as he usually tends to be where Jack is concerned, not that Jack thinks he’s done anything to deserve getting yelled at. Crow seems to think otherwise, which is why he chooses one of Jack’s favourite things in the world to complain about this time, his love of caffeine.

“Who the hell spends 30,000 yen on *coffee*?” Crow shouts, shaking the bill in Jack’s face like he still can’t believe just how many zeros are written at the bottom. “Oh wait,” he adds, before Jack can respond, “it’s the idiot standing in front of me right now.”

Jack opens his mouth to speak, but Crow is so angry, he refuses to let him get a word in edgeways.

“Why can’t you be more like Yusei and make do with milk? It’s good for you, full of calcium and... stuff. More importantly, it’s cheap.”

Jack tries to tell Crow that milk is for little kids and commoners, that it’s not a worthy enough drink for someone of his standing and that Crow needs to stop talking down to him like he’s mentally challenged, only to get shot down once again without being able to argue his case.

“Better yet,” Crow continues, crumpling up the bill and shoving it into his pocket, “just drink water or something. It’s clean, it’s treated and it comes straight from the tap. In other words, it isn’t throwing money away on unnecessary junk.”

Apparently, it’s not enough for Crow to leave Jack feeling irritable and henpecked, he has to ban him from ever going back to the café he tends to frequent so regularly. The injustice of it all is enraging, but Crow doesn’t give a damn.

Pleased that his point has been driven home once and for all (at least until Jack’s addiction takes over and causes him to rebel), Crow heads off back to work. Jack skulks around the garage in a foul mood for a few minutes afterwards, thinking wistfully of coffee and wondering why people always seem to want most what they can’t have before making his way to the fridge, more out of boredom than anything else.

There isn’t much inside it (the cup ramen that’s become a staple of their diet doesn’t need to be kept chilled, after all), just a carton of eggs, some butter and milk, a whole three bottles of it, probably bought on sale and due to expire anytime soon.

Because he has nothing better to do, but also because he’s trying to take his mind off his beloved coffee, Jack pours himself a glass, holds it up to the light and stares.

It’s not the most appealing thing he’s ever seen, and if there’s anything Jack dislikes, it’s blandness. There’s no inviting aroma to it either when he sniffs it, nothing that makes him actually want to consume it.

“Are you going to drink that?”

Yusei’s voice makes Jack jump, nearly causes him to spill the milk.

“Go ahead,” he sighs, not really wanting it anyway. “It’s all yours.”

Yusei blinks, curious, then shrugs and accepts the glass that Jack holds out to him, bringing it to his lips and drinking deeply from it. His tongue darts out to swipe away the milk that’s left over the top of his mouth as Jack watches with interest.

Yusei takes another drink, a short one this time, and that’s when Jack makes his move, taking Yusei’s chin and raising it so he can lick at the milk that lingers on his lips. It doesn’t taste too bad, not that it can possibly compare to coffee, but then Jack slides a hand around the nape of Yusei’s neck, angling him up for a kiss.

“What was that for?” asks Yusei afterwards, only slightly surprised.

Jack doesn’t respond with words, just a grin and another, lingering kiss.

Crow can take away his coffee, but he at least he still has sex.

 

End.


	14. Fourteen

Title: Meeting In the Middle  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: R  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Jack’s skin is pale and perfect, unblemished, unbranded, unlike Yusei’s. He can’t imagine himself without scars and markers. It doesn’t make him feel ashamed, doesn’t make him want to hide himself away, but he does wonder sometimes how it might be if he were more like Jack.

Jack is always telling him to take better care of himself, that he’s letting his looks go to waste, but Yusei has more important things to keep occupied with, worries more about the people around him rather than his own appearance. It’s true that Jack is vain, that his opinion of himself is just a little too high at times, but Yusei kind of likes this, finds it vaguely amusing and endearing and ridiculous because, well, it’s just how Jack is, silly, stubborn, selfish but he’s sexy and he knows it, doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of it.

Even now the differences between them become apparent as Yusei removes Jack’s clothing piece by piece, refuses to be drawn into Jack’s pace, moving slowly, almost painstakingly, as his lips and hands trace familiar and well travelled paths along Jack’s body, being sure to never lavish attention too long on any one spot. He’s patient and thorough, a sharp contrast to how Jack would be in his position. He prefers to bite and suck and bruise, to rush things along at a dizzying pace so he can get to the mind-blowing climax that much quicker, but Yusei’s mouth is gentle as he scatters kisses over Jack’s throat, breathing in his scent, savouring it.

“Damn it, Yusei,” growls Jack. “Hurry *up*.”

“No,” says Yusei, because he’s not going to let Jack push him around. Not tonight. Jack gets his way often enough. He has to learn to respect the needs of others once in a while.

Jack curses, mouth twisted on a scowl that melts into a silent ‘O’ of pleasure as Yusei’s tongue slides over one nipple, sucking on it in a way that makes Jack arch and gasp. Because he’s not like Jack, he doesn’t bite or even nip, just gives the little nub one last lick before kissing his way along to its twin to give it the same treatment.

“Fuck,” Jack groans, his fingers tangling themselves in Yusei’s hair in an attempt to push him further downwards. “Why are you so slow?”

Yusei takes mild offence to the question, thinks it’s not him that’s too slow it’s just that Jack is way too fast. Somehow, they’re going to have to learn to meet in the middle, but for the time being, Yusei is content to continue doing what he wants, how he wants, when he wants, and if Jack doesn’t like it... well, he will soon.

And so, ignoring Jack’s protests, he turns his focus elsewhere, to the place Jack is least expecting it, his hands.

Yusei likes Jack’s hands, likes how they’re so big, likes the way they look when they touch him, splayed across his chest and back, but he’s the one touching Jack right now, comparing himself with Jack in a sense of muted wonder as he notes how much smaller his own hands are when he places his right over Jack’s left, palm to palm, how much darker and rougher they are.

He presses a kiss to the tip of Jack’s longest finger, the middle one, before taking it into his mouth, closing his eyes and hollowing his cheeks, leaving it sticky with saliva when he lets it pop back out.

“*Yusei*,” Jack hisses, lifting his hips and letting Yusei know just where he’d prefer to have his mouth, but Yusei ignores him, leans up to press a brief kiss to Jack’s lips, murmuring, “Don’t be greedy,” but feeling Jack’s hands reach down for his ass anyway, squeezing and groping through his jeans.

He sighs, starts to say something about how Jack just can’t wait quietly for anything, but then Jack’s fingers slip underneath the fabric and Yusei’s shorts, dipping down over his balls, his entrance, and Yusei momentarily loses sight of his goal, allows himself to be distracted by Jack long enough for him to flip them over so that he’s on top, pinning Yusei with his weight.

Yusei doesn’t bother struggling. He knows it’ll only be useless, so he takes the craftier approach instead by saying, “Jack, you have to let me go.”

“No, I don’t,” argues Jack, settling into the cradle of Yusei’s legs and rocking against him.

“Yes, you do,” says Yusei, trying not to moan as his body unwittingly responds with a thrust. “Because I’m going to suck you off.”

Jack stills suddenly. Yusei knows he’s won. “Are you really?”

“That was my intention from the start,” Yusei informs him, giving Jack a moment to consider his options. Not that he has many of them, since there aren’t many sane men who would reject the offer of a free blowjob.

At last, Jack allows him to reverse their positions until Yusei is back on top. “Fine,” he relents. “But you have to strip first.”

Yusei does so, peeling away his tank top and shimmying out of his jeans, kicking off his shorts before settling into place between Jack’s thighs, running a fingertip along his cock and watching it twitch. It’s already sticky with pre-come, so Yusei leans in to taste it.

Jack, to his credit, keeps his hands to himself, fisting them into the sheets and obviously not wanting to compromise the situation he’s in currently, letting Yusei be the one to do as he pleases for once. It makes Yusei smile, makes him fall in love just a little bit more, makes him want to reward Jack for his efforts, so he stops teasing and gets straight down to business, takes him in until he’s halfway down his throat, until Jack is swearing and panting and straining.

“Yusei,” he keeps saying, restless, reverent, “Yusei, Yusei, Yusei...”

Yusei’s only response is to hum around Jack’s cock, pushing him and pushing him until he comes apart with a ragged moan, listens to the sound of his breathing before Jack grabs his arm and drags him up the bed, running a hand down Yusei’s side and to his hard-on so he can jerk him off, licking fingers sticky with Yusei’s release.

Yusei smiles and lays his head on Jack’s shoulder, listens to the sound of his breathing.

 

End.


	15. Fifteen

Title: Intended Purpose  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG-13  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Whenever Jack Atlas wants something, he always wants it immediately. He doesn’t understand words like ‘waiting’ or ‘patience,’ or even the basic essentials of hygiene which, coming from a guy who showers at least once a day without regard for letting either of his housemates get their fair share of (limited) hot water, seems a little strange to Yusei.

Jack’s bedroom isn’t too far away, nothing that wouldn’t take them more than a minute at the most to reach, but he wants sex, and he wants it now even if it means taking Yusei on the kitchen table, the one that they have to use for its intended purpose and eat off.

It’s not just that. The table supports Yusei easily enough when Jack pushes him onto it, legs hanging off the end and Jack’s lower body between them, but it’s when Jack starts to lean a little too much of himself onto Yusei that the table gives an ominous creak.

“Jack,” he says, gasping faintly when he feels his tank top being pulled up to reveal his bare belly.

“Hmm?” Jack doesn’t seem terribly interested in what Yusei wants to tell him, but then his attention is otherwise occupied as he traces his tongue along Yusei’s navel and over his abs.

Yusei moans, fingers curling tight around the edge of the tabletop. “I think,” he tries, his breath hitching once more when Jack pops open the top button of his jeans and tugs them down low enough to give his hipbone a nip. “I think...”

“Don’t,” Jack advises, shutting him up with a kiss.

The table creaks again, louder this time, but Jack appears not to hear it. Yusei definitely does, but then it’s not the first time he’s noticed it making a protest. “Jack, stop.”

“Don’t want to.” Jack is too busy sucking on Yusei’s Adam’s apple to listen, and even Yusei finds himself forgetting about giving any further warnings when Jack’s kisses find their way back to his lips until Jack starts leaning more heavily on top of him, and the table groans.

“Jack, we really ought to –”

But Yusei’s words are cut off by a sharp splintering sound that sends them both crashing to the floor as the table surrenders at last and breaks. Jack blinks in confusion and astonishment, and it takes a lot of effort for Yusei to keep a straight face.

Jack may have been oblivious to the table’s impending doom, but even he can realise when Yusei is trying his best not to laugh out loud at him, his warning expression telling Yusei without words that now would not be a very good time to make a comment about his weight.

 

End.


	16. Sixteen

Title: Unnecessary Exposure  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei, hinted Crow/Aki  
Rating: R  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Crow is of the opinion that Jack only has three volume settings, loud, very loud and louder still, leaving no doubt as to which one it’s on when he’s having sex. He knows full well how thin the bedroom walls are, could at least have the decency to try and keep himself quiet for once, but Jack is an ass who doesn’t give a damn about what Crow thinks, or even that he’s disturbing Crow’s precious sleep that he needs in order to be up bright and early for his deliveries.

Even Yusei, who’s usually so quiet and soft spoken, is guilty of keeping Crow awake during the early hours, his only saving grace being that he isn’t nearly as noisy as Jack (then again, Crow doubts there can be very few people who are).

It’s still enough to make him an annoyance, and while he does at least look somewhat embarrassed and apologetic whenever Crow chews him out about it, Jack always tends to look ridiculously proud of himself, rather like the way he did when he spent all of Crow’s money on a pimp suit for the WRGP party, like he *wants* Crow to listen in on all their moaning and grunting and panting, like it’s something for him to show off and brag about.

Being an attention whore with the mentality of a five year old is a dangerous combination, as far as Crow’s concerned, but he supposes Yusei has to find Jack’s idiocy vaguely tolerable (and maybe even appealing, different strokes and all that), otherwise he wouldn’t be sleeping with him.

Earplugs help, but even they can’t block out sound completely. Only premature deafness would solve Crow’s problem altogether, but it’s enough for him to get some uninterrupted sleep for the first time in weeks. Muffled noises are easier to ignore than ones at full blast, and it leaves him optimistic that he’s going to wake up feeling refreshed, the way people are supposed to be when they get out of bed in a morning, but Jack and Yusei aren’t that considerate.

It’s a definite surprise when Crow wakes up suddenly at around 1.30am to find himself feeling... well, horny. He’s out of breath and hot all over, and the dragon tail birthmark on his right arm is glowing crimson in the darkness of the room. The rhythmic way in which it throbs can only mean that Yusei’s heightened emotions are resonating through him, through Jack and – oh God, Crow realises, on the verge of hyperventilating – Aki and Ruka too.

He hopes for Ruka’s sake that she’s literally away with the fairies and playing with her magical friends in the world of Duel Monsters, because eleven years old is just too young to be traumatised by unnecessary exposure to Jack and Yusei’s adventures in sex, assuming she’s actually managed to figure out just what is going on in the first place.

As for Aki, Crow is fairly sure he’s going to have her crying into his arms at some point now she’s discovered that the object of her affections is most definitely already taken, that he’s currently *being* taken, by Jack, and that he’s enjoying it enough to make him broadcast his ecstasy so that he can share it so generously with the rest of the Signers.

Crow’s birthmark continues to throb, sending waves of pleasure pulsing through his body, and fuck, he’s really being turned on by this, never mind that he doesn’t actually want it, but it doesn’t stop him from moving a hand down his front to palm the bulge in his shorts anyway.

He wonders if Aki is doing something similar right now over at her parents’ estate, if she’s touching herself too, imagines her in some pretty little pink negligee as she slips her fingers between her legs underneath the sheets into wet and welcoming heat, that Crow can picture himself sliding into all too easily and it’s just so dirty and erotic that he doesn’t even care what Jack and Yusei are doing anymore.

The tension just keeps building and building, coiling up tighter until Crow’s release rips through him, and it’s made that much more intense by the way his birthmark gives one final, thundering pulsation before fading away.

Damn, Yusei, he thinks dazedly, still twitching from the aftershocks. That must have been some orgasm.

 

End.


	17. Seventeen

Title: Preemptive  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Yusei is a lousy dancer, but Jack is stubborn and refuses to give in over anything. It doesn’t stop him from despairing over the fact that Yusei has no sense of rhythm whatsoever, and it definitely doesn’t stop him from complaining whenever Yusei accidentally steps on him.

“Raise your face,” he orders, unhappy with the way Yusei keeps his head lowered. “Look me in the eye. A good dancer should be more than capable of captivating their partner.”

And a bad one should make sure their attention is fixed firmly on their feet in order to prevent them from treading on anything that isn’t the floor, Yusei wants to reply, but he does as he’s told, trying not to feel too bad at the way Jack winces when he makes the same mistake five seconds later.

“You really are terrible at this,” sighs Jack.

“I did warn you,” says Yusei.

But there’s no stopping Jack when he wants to do something, not even Yusei’s inability to move his body in time to the beat of the music. Eventually, once Jack decides his toes have taken enough abuse for one evening, they reach a compromise by simply standing still, arms around each other and swaying on the spot when one of the slower songs starts.

“Your problem,” Jack says as Yusei finally begins to relax (because really, even he can manage this much if it involves staying in place), “is that you think too much. You need to stop being so cautious.”

Yusei gets the feeling Jack isn’t talking only about his dancing, but he’s feeling too content to retort how Jack doesn’t seem to think at all about anything sometimes. Then again, he’s always preferred to take action first and deal with the consequences later. Still, Yusei has to admit that when it comes to dancing at least, Jack is skilled. He could tell him, but that would only serve to stroke his ego, not that it’s in need of any more inflation. Instead, he says quietly, “You must have practised.”

“I was always going to some party or other back when I was king of riding duels.”

“You probably danced with lots of pretty girls.”

Jack laughs, but it’s softer than Yusei is expecting, and surprisingly not obnoxious. “Jealous?” he teases.

“Maybe.”

They continue swaying together in silence for a while, Yusei forgetting all about matching the beat. He closes his eyes and rests his head against Jack’s shoulder, rubbing the palm of his left hand in little soothing circles over the small of Jack’s back. It’s not something he has to think about for once. He just does it.

“They got pretty boring after a while,” Jack admits suddenly. “The parties, I mean.” He pauses again before adding, “Everything got boring without you around.” This, coming from Jack, is about the equivalent of an ‘I love you.’ Yusei takes it very seriously indeed, especially when Jack finishes by muttering, “So you’d better not be planning on going anywhere,” and because he’s obviously worried about sounding sentimental, but also because he doesn’t want to show too much vulnerability, “idiot.”

Yusei can’t help smiling. “Even though you’re the one who left me first?”

“All so you would follow. Which, by the way, you took your sweet time doing, damn it.”

Yusei could say something about how building a D-Wheel takes a bit more effort than adding boiling water to a container of cup ramen, but he doesn’t. He got there in the end. That’s what’s most important. Nothing else matters right now, not the past or the future, only the present. Just being here, with Jack, in his arms, is enough.

“You don’t miss it?” he asks, voice soft. “The crowds, the attention, the excitement...” And then, somewhat teasingly, “The pretty girls.”

“What are you, my wife?” Jack grumbles. “It’s not like any of those things have gone away completely. Besides,” he adds, sounding vaguely embarrassed to be admitting such a thing, “it’s more fun to compete as a team.”

He’s right. Yusei understands exactly how he feels. He much prefers working together with Jack rather than against him. Jack has changed. He’s come a long way. Yusei is about to say this when Jack suddenly tilts his face up for a kiss.

“A preemptive tactic,” smirks Jack. “You were planning on making some sappy speech about the importance of bonds and all that other nonsense you enjoy preaching about, weren’t you?”

He kisses Yusei again before he can argue, or at least make a comment about how Jack needs to be more honest with his feelings and how there’s nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to listening to what his heart is telling him, but Jack obviously has other things on his mind.

 

End.


	18. Eighteen

Title: Tried and Tested  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Yusei’s bedtime ritual is fairly simple and straightforward. He’s usually so tired from work or from sitting in front of the computer for hours on end that he tends to fall face first into the pillows, assuming he actually makes it to bed in the first place instead of simply dozing on his desk or the couch.

Jack is very different in comparison. He likes to take good care of his possessions and his appearance. The earrings are the first to come off, followed by the hairclips and then finally the collar (it has to be done in order, otherwise it doesn’t feel quite right). It pains him that Crow only ever buys the cheapest of everything, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, but they can’t exactly afford the luxuries Jack has grown accustomed to these days, so he’s forced to put up with it.

Yusei hasn’t even bothered changing, he notes. Even worse, his boots are on the bed, getting dirt all over the sheets that, although probably could be cleaner, do certainly not deserve the disrespect of being trodden all over.

Sighing, Jack bends down to ease them off of Yusei’s feet, peeling his socks off next and brushing away the scuff marks he’s left behind. It doesn’t do much good, but it’s still better than nothing.

“Yusei,” he says, shaking his shoulder and earning himself a muffled grunt in response. “Yusei, wake up.”

Yusei doesn’t budge, so Jack rolls him onto his back. He looks exhausted when he manages to open one eye and frown, but Jack doesn’t feel guilty for disturbing him. He wouldn’t have to do any of this if Yusei would just look after himself properly, but he doesn’t, and Jack is left to handle things on his behalf.

“Come on, raise your arms.”

Yusei does as he’s told, allowing Jack to pull his tank top off. He doesn’t move or speak when Jack’s fingers move to his jeans, just sighs and lifts his hips at Jack’s command so he can tug them down over his thighs.

Jack knows there won’t be any sex at the end of this, at least not tonight, but he doesn’t feel particularly hard done by. It’s not in Yusei’s nature to be reliant on others or to make an inconvenience of himself if he can help it, and Jack is probably the only person who ever gets to see this side of him.

“Brush your teeth,” he tells Yusei, hauling him upright into a sitting position. “And wash your hands. If you don’t do it properly, I’m not letting you back into bed.”

This doesn’t bother Yusei as much as it ought to, considering his ability to nod off just about anywhere, the floor, the bath, anything he can lie down on or in, but Jack ushers him off anyway and watches as he stumbles in the direction of the bathroom.

Ten minutes pass by before Jack begins to wonder if he’s fallen asleep at the sink, but then Yusei reappears, yawning but looking slightly more alert than he was before. His eyes aren’t drooping anymore, and he’s steadier on his feet as he holds out his hands for Jack to inspect. They’re clean enough for Jack to move over and make room on the mattress, and he slides under the sheets with a moan before curling up against Jack’s side. He could really do with a pair of pyjamas rather than sleeping in his shorts the way he always seems to, but there’s no point mentioning this because Jack knows Yusei will argue that the money could be better spent on the WRGP (and definitely not, as he so frequently hears from Crow, on expensive coffee).

“Feeling better now?” he asks.

“Mm.” Yusei shifts closer, his head tucked snugly under Jack’s chin as he reaches up a hand to run gentle fingers through his hair. “Tired.”

It makes Jack want to roll his eyes in exasperation, or at least point out that Yusei wouldn’t be this weary if only he would sleep properly like a normal person, but he doesn’t want to waste his breath. Besides, if he makes a comment about Yusei being such a workaholic, Yusei will counter by saying something about him being work shy (it may be true, but it doesn’t mean Jack appreciates being accused of such laziness).

Still, as long as he’s making Yusei’s life at least a little bit easier without being overly obvious about it, Jack is happy. Yusei doesn’t yell at or criticise him, nor does he make Jack feel as though he constantly has to defend himself, unlike a certain other member of their team. He’s about to suggest helping Crow get laid, maybe prodding him subtly in Izayoi’s direction, when he notices Yusei has stopped stroking his hair and is now braiding it.

“You’d better undo that once you’re finished,” Jack warns, right eyebrow twitching.

“Hmm.” It seems Yusei is only capable of communicating in mumbles and one-word answers tonight. Jack bats his fingers away with a sigh.

“Hurry up and sleep.”

Yusei brushes his lips briefly against Jack’s jaw in response, succumbing to slumber at last without, to Jack’s annoyance, unravelling the silly braid first, leaving Jack to do the job himself.

He can’t stay angry with Yusei for long though, especially when he looks so trusting and unguarded, but then it occurs to Jack that he’ll probably be doing this all over again tomorrow, and he wonders if there’s any tried and tested cure for workaholism.

 

End.


	19. Nineteen

Title: Incomprehensible  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Women are weird. Crow has been aware of this fact for a long time now, but he’s also noticed that Jack’s fans tend to be even more incomprehensible to him than any other female. He supposes it takes a special kind of girl to fall in love with someone like Jack, which explains why the three of his most ardent supporters are the strangest of the lot.

Oddly enough, the usual jealousy and cattiness that tends to make itself known whenever they compete amongst themselves is absent altogether when the subject turns to Yusei, something that surprises Crow as he’s forced to spend one of his rare days off work playing the gracious host by serving his unexpected guests with instant coffee.

“I don’t get it,” he says honestly, pulling up a stool to sit on while Carly, Mikage and Stephanie make themselves comfortable on the couch. “I thought you guys would, hell, I don’t know, have a grudge against Yusei or something for taking your precious ‘Atlas-sama’ away.”

“Well, it’s Yusei we’re talking about here,” says Carly, like that’s supposed to explain everything.

“We could never win against him,” Stephanie chimes in.

“As long as Atlas-sama is happy, I’m happy,” Mikage claims.

Crow raises his eyebrows.

“Besides,” adds Carly, “I’d rather see Jack with someone of his own gender than another woman.” The other two nod fervently. “And, you know, it’s always romantic whenever childhood friends end up together.”

“They were destined to be,” Stephanie agrees.

“The bonds that tie them together are unbreakable,” says Mikage.

“Er, right.” Crow sincerely hopes they haven’t suddenly turned into diehard fans of boy’s love, because there’s no way he’s going to let them talk him into taking pictures of Jack and Yusei in compromising positions together or sneak a microphone into their bedroom in order to record their lovemaking sessions. “Not to sound rude or anything, but what does this have to do with me?”

The trio turn to him as one with shining eyes, making Crow shudder with dread. They’re the eyes of people who expect a great favour, and they’re bringing all his worst fears to life, but before he can start protesting that he’ll never give in to their perverted demands no matter how much money they try to bribe him with, Stephanie opens her mouth to speak.

“We’ve been discussing this for some time now,” she begins, lowering her gaze shyly and blushing (and not, Crow hopes, because she’s imagining what Yusei looks like when Jack is screwing him senseless), “and we’ve finally come to a decision.”

“We decided,” Carly continues, turning just as pink as Stephanie (her maidenly nature is clearly overriding her instincts as a reporter, but then exposure to gay porn tends to do that to people, Crow thinks), “that since there’s no room in Jack’s heart for anyone other than Yusei, there’s only one option which enables us to get closer to him.”

“And that would be,” Mikage concludes, a faint tinge appearing in her own cheeks (probably because she’s going to suggest secretly installing surveillance cameras so they can spy on Jack and Yusei getting in on, and Security has some of the best technology around when it comes to stuff like this, Crow recalls), “to offer our services as potential surrogate mothers.”

There’s complete and utter silence for a moment while her words sink in, and even then Crow is left baffled. “Wait, what?” he says, taking a much needed sip of coffee in the hope that it will stimulate his brain juices into flowing properly. “*Surrogacy*?”

“Just think about it,” Carly urges. “They’re still young now and busy with the WRGP and stuff, but someday they’ll want to settle down and start a family. That’s where we come in. Two men can’t reproduce, right? So, we’re here to help.”

Crow can only stare blankly. The coffee doesn’t seem to be having much effect. Jack and Yusei... having a family? It’s impossible for him to imagine such a thing, not when Jack can’t even take care of himself. Yusei, although capable of things like cooking and cleaning, is always too busy with other things. He’s the one who *can* take care of himself, but doesn’t. At least Jack has the excuse of being plain incompetent. Yusei, despite having the best of intentions, is a workaholic. Whatever offspring they end up having in the future, if any, will only end up being neglected. Even worse, they’ll have Jack to fill their heads with garbage.

No, Crow thinks. He wouldn’t wish any child on parents like these.

Then he remembers going over to Martha’s place with them and visiting her many orphans, and how they actually get on pretty well with kids. Jack, short tempered at the best of times, doesn’t seem to mind that much when they clamber all over him, and children always love it when he does his ‘there is only one king, and that’s me!’ pose. Yusei is the same. There’s a reason why Rally, Rua and Ruka adore him so much, and why they would follow him anywhere. They worship him, particularly Rua, looking to him for inspiration and support.

The more Crow thinks about it, the less absurd the idea becomes.

“It’s great that you’re talking to me about this and all,” he says, sincerely thankful that it’s something reasonable and plausible and not related to sex between men, “but shouldn’t you be telling it to Yusei and Jack instead?”

“We wanted to get your opinion first,” says Stephanie. “And for you to pass on the message, of course.”

“To let them know our feelings on the situation,” adds Mikage.

“Naturally, Jack will choose me,” Carly says confidently. “After all, I have beauty.”

“And I have brains,” Mikage states proudly.

“And I have, um...” Stephanie trails off, clearly stuck as to what she can offer before finishing brightly with, “50% off coupons for the café where I work.”

That’s when they begin to turn on each other, arguing loudly as to who will provide Jack’s future children with the best possible genes. Crow doesn’t have the nerve to interrupt by suggesting, in his humble opinion, that if Jack and Yusei wanted children, they would most likely choose to adopt, having been orphans themselves, and that it makes more sense to give a home to kids who need one rather than bringing another life into an already overpopulated world, but because he doesn’t want three screeching banshees turning him deaf or attempting to claw his eyes out for his insolence, he stays quiet.

“Well?” Carly prompts, a bit dishevelled from where Stephanie has been pulling her hair as she turns her gaze on Crow. “What do you say? Which one of us do you believe would be the most appropriate?”

Mikage and Stephanie glare at Crow, waiting for his judgement, so Crow does what any guy with an ounce of self-preservation in his position would do by attempting to change the subject.

“The future is a long way off,” he reasons. “Let’s just get through life by achieving one goal at a time, okay? Since winning the WRGP comes first, we’ll concentrate on that. You’ll all be there to cheer Jack on, right?”

The three of them give him an ‘are you stupid?’ look, like there’s nothing on earth that could keep them away from the stadium while Jack is duelling inside it, which, considering the level of their obsession, is probably true before putting aside their differences for the moment to drool over their idol.

Crow catches words like “dreamy” and “hunky” and “sex god” over the various squeals and giggles, and it gives him the perfect opportunity to slip away unnoticed while making a mental note to avoid all females over the age of eleven for the rest of his days.

 

End.


	20. Twenty

Title: Neglected  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG-13  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

“You’re sulking again.”

Jack crosses his arms over his chest and turns his nose up haughtily, refusing to speak to Yusei when Yusei won’t even bother speaking to him. Which, technically, he’s doing now, but Jack hasn’t forgotten being cast aside so easily in favour of somebody else.

Yusei sighs, closing the door behind him and making his way over to Jack’s bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress when Jack continues to ignore him. “This is about Bruno, isn’t it?”

Jack can’t stop the derisive snort that he gives upon hearing those words, but he stubbornly stays silent.

“Well? What is it that you dislike about him so much?”

Everything, Jack thinks sourly, although he doesn’t say it out loud. He hates how Bruno makes Yusei smile so often and so easily, hates how the two of them seem to communicate in their own special language only they can understand, hates most of all how Yusei takes Bruno so seriously, in spite of having a face that screams ‘punch me, I’m an idiot’.

Yusei places a hand on Jack’s forearm. Jack, because he hasn’t quite forgiven him, won’t allow his gaze to meet Yusei’s, instead pinning it on the window, even though the curtain is drawn and he can’t see out of it.

“If you don’t say anything, I won’t be able to understand how you’re feeling,” Yusei tells him softly.

Jack doesn’t bother resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He knows Yusei must be serious if he’s in a ‘let’s talk about our emotions’ mood, not that Jack will ever do anything of the sort because he’s not some woman. Nor is he mentally unstable.

“Come to think of it, you got just like this when Crow came to Martha’s orphanage, and then again when we first met Kiryu.”

It’s the truth, but Jack is still not speaking to Yusei, so his mouth remains fixed in an unhappy downward curve.

“There’s no need for you to be so jealous,” Yusei continues, settling in closer so that his head is resting against Jack’s shoulder. “Or don’t you trust me to stay faithful?”

“Of course I do!” snaps Jack, unable to refrain from answering such a stupid question. “It’s not like I’m forcing you to never talk to or look at anyone other than me. Honestly, I thought you were smarter than this.”

He expects Yusei to reply that he’s not a mind reader and that he’s not supposed to be aware of every thought running through Jack’s brain if he won’t give voice to them, but he doesn’t.

“You should have told me if you were lonely,” is what he comes out with instead.

It leaves Jack even more pissed off, enough for him to give Yusei his most imposing glare (which, to his annoyance, seems to have virtually no effect). “Who the hell do you think I am? I, Jack Atlas, do not get lonely. The mere implication offends me.”

But Yusei, as always, sees right through his lies, just like he’s always seen through the front Jack puts up, and that’s what irks Jack even more, especially when Yusei’s expression turns knowing and affectionate, like he’s indulging a kid throwing a temper tantrum. The fact that phrases such as ‘it’s not fair’ and ‘it’s all your fault’ are itching to slip past Jack’s lips doesn’t help matters, so he decides to play it safe by attempting to distract Yusei in order to save face.

“What are you even doing here anyway?” he asks. “Shouldn’t you be doing more important things, such as messing about with computers and D-Wheels? Don’t concern yourself with me.”

It’s a noble sacrifice, but one that he’s willing to make for the same of the team. Besides, it’s been so long since Yusei found the time to have sex with him that Jack is beginning to get used to going without it.

Also, he hasn’t stopped sulking yet.

Yusei smiles, kicking his boots off and twisting his body on the bed until he’s on his knees, stroking his thumbs over Jack’s cheeks. “I’m sorry for neglecting you,” he murmurs, leaning in to bring his mouth to Jack’s.

Jack is unresponsive, makes Yusei do all the work for once because he’s not going to let him off with only an apology, but he does close his eyes at least as Yusei’s lips brush over his once more in soft, sweet, gentle kisses that eventually cause the last of Jack’s patience to snap. He grabs the back of Yusei’s head, pouring all of his frustration and aggressiveness into a kiss that leaves Yusei gasping afterwards, and even Jack can’t pretend to be unaffected by it.

“What are you tiptoeing around for?” he growls, nipping at Yusei’s lower lip insistently before drawing into his mouth for a quick suck. “Life, duelling, sex, it’s all about power. Stop being so half-assed and kiss me like you mean it.”

Yusei nods, not in agreement but in approval. “That’s the Jack I know.”

But is it the Jack he wants? As much as he hates himself for being so insecure, watching Yusei interacting with Bruno has Jack wondering whether he would prefer someone on his own wavelength, someone who understands him, someone he can talk nerdy to, someone – and it pains Jack to admit it – more intelligent.

Jack knows next to nothing about technology. There’s nothing much he can help Yusei with other than simply being there for him, and even that isn’t enough. It makes him feel useless, but he manages to cheer himself up by remembering how he has plenty of things Bruno doesn’t. Looks are just one of them. Bruno is plain, almost boringly so, and he makes other people (namely Jack) want to hit him. Jack is striking and turns heads wherever he goes. And he’s taller. And sexier. And more charismatic. Bruno may be a super mechanic, but he has all the magnetism of a paper bag.

Smirking, Jack pulls Yusei into his lap. He’s been an fool for worrying over something so trivial. Yusei is here with him, not Bruno or his beloved machines. Moreover, he wants sex, which is convenient because Jack does too. He’s been waiting long enough, and he’ll be damned if he lets the chance pass him by.

Yusei’s smile becomes sly, and he leans in for another kiss (great, *now* he develops psychic powers, or maybe it’s Jack’s hands groping his ass that are giving him a clue) as Jack, his interest in brooding having well and truly disappeared, focuses all his energy on getting what he wants.

 

End.


	21. Twenty one

Title: Given the Option  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Since Yusei is always busy and Jack is useless with money, it’s up to Crow to do the accounts at the end of each month. It’s actually quiet for once, the only noise being the sound of Crow’s fingers tapping figures into his calculator and Jack occasionally turning a page of the book he’s reading.

It must be nice to have so much free time, Crow thinks grumpily, but he supposes it’s better than bickering.

Jack is the one who breaks the silence, not because he’s bored enough to pick a fight, but because Yusei disturbs him by flopping down on the couch beside him and leaning over to rest his head on Jack’s shoulder. He looks tired. He always does these days. It’s because he works too hard. He needs to sleep and eat more, but for the moment at least he seems content, unlike Jack who, disgruntled, transfers his attention from his book to Yusei.

“Why do you always insist on using me as a pillow, damn it?” he complains.

“I could use Crow instead,” Yusei replies, voice drowsy as his eyes flutter shut.

“Don’t you dare.” Jack snakes an arm around Yusei’s waist possessively and draws him closer.

Yusei doesn’t respond. He’s already dozed off.

Crow sighs. He’s been planning on giving Jack another talk about the importance of being thrifty now that they’re in the red yet again, but he holds his tongue for Yusei’s sake. Pushing aside thoughts of their finances and overtime for a while, at least until the next bunch of bills arrive, Crow can’t help smiling a little when he glances over at the couple on the couch. Jack quickly notices.

“What are you smirking at?” he growls.

“Nothing,” Crow says innocently, filing the paperwork away for another day (out of sight, out of mind). “I was just thinking about how Yusei always seems to bring out the best in people, even you. Which, considering your many negative qualities, is a pretty impressive feat.”

Predictably, Jack bristles at the jibe. “Negative qualities?” he echoes, narrowing his eyes dangerously. “And what, pray tell, would those be?”

Crow shakes his head pityingly as if to say ‘oh, you don’t know?’ but before he can get started on listing all the things about Jack that grate on his nerves most (and it’s a long one, enough to spend a good fifteen minutes or so covering), Yusei stirs, making Crow put a finger to his lips in warning.

Jack gives an irritated “tch” noise under his breath, but he keeps his mouth shut until Yusei settles back down, sparing him for the second time from Crow’s lectures. It’s probably only the sound of their voices and not a nightmare (and Yusei has been having plenty of those as of late), but his expression remains calm. He relaxes even more when Jack’s hand finds its way to his hair, stroking softly. His fingers are gentle, even if his face is not, which is fixed in a scowl in Crow’s direction as if daring him to say something.

Crow shrugs and grins, getting up from his chair and deciding to give the two of them some privacy. Besides, the bathroom is free. Their resident primping princess hasn’t used up all the hot water yet, giving him the option of taking a shower for the first time in days that isn’t either lukewarm or just downright freezing. While he’s at it, he figures he should probably polish off some of Jack’s cup ramen, what with him being too occupied with Yusei right now to prevent Crow from helping himself, the super special spicy limited edition variety he’s managed to get his hands on (with Crow’s money, of course) that’s already long since sold out.

Crow heads off, rubbing his hands gleefully in anticipation.

There’s nothing more satisfying than payback.

 

End.


	22. Twenty two

Title: Usual Pattern  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: NC-17  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Yusei has never been fond of routine or conformities. He sleeps when he’s tired and he eats when he’s hungry, often skipping one meal after the other without even being aware of it, and slumping unconscious over his D-Wheel or computer keyboard whenever he can’t keep his eyes open anymore. Because of these irregular and unhealthy patterns, he makes up for what he misses out on by sleeping a whole twelve hours straight after pulling three all-nighters in a row before going on to fill his stomach that’s been empty for far too long.

It’s the same with sex. There’s only one reason why Jack doesn’t pester Yusei for it more often, and that’s because he prefers it when Yusei is the one to come to him. There’s not much point in trying to initiate anything when Jack knows the only responses he’ll get are that Yusei is too busy, too tired or just isn’t in the mood, so he waits until Yusei can’t stand it any longer, until he’s half crazy with need.

There’s no predicting it. Jack can be doing the most mundane things when Yusei is at his horniest, taking a shower, reading the paper, drinking coffee or fuming over his latest argument with Crow, and Yusei will nearly always catch him by surprise.

This time, it happens while Jack is still asleep, coming to gradually as the numbers on the digital clock by his bed come into focus to tell him that it’s not even three in the morning yet. Yusei is the next thing he notices, having thrown the sheets aside and settled between Jack’s legs, his attention fixed firmly on his cock as he sucks in earnest, eyes closed, brow furrowed, working it deeper into his mouth, inch by aching inch.

“Fuck,” Jack groans, one hand twisting itself into sheets, the other finding its way to the back of Yusei’s head. “Yusei...”

He wishes he’d never said anything when Yusei releases him. “Jack,” he says.

Jack curses again, about to ask Yusei why the hell he’s stopped when he lifts up and straddles Jack’s waist. He’s completely naked, face flushed and eyes gleaming in anticipation as his lips seek out Jack’s, kissing him again and again, hungry, demanding, insistent.

He’s taken care of everything, as Jack soon discovers, finding Yusei already wet when he reaches his ass. It makes him moan when he imagines Yusei preparing himself so that Jack doesn’t have to, but also kind of pisses him off because it’s something he would have liked to see with his own eyes (and watching Yusei masturbate will never not be sexy).

Because there are better things for him to be doing other than sulking, and because Yusei is canting his hips so invitingly, Jack slides his fingers inside. Yusei’s breath gives a sharp hitch in response, but he won’t even allow Jack to have his way on something like this, tugging his hand free and getting himself into position.

“Where’s the rest of the lube?” asks Jack, mindful of the fact that, although Yusei has taken care of matters on his behalf, it’s a rush job at best, which is most uncharacteristic, and that he’s not going to enjoy what Jack is about to do to him as much as he should if he doesn’t take the time to apply more of the stuff, if not to himself then at least to Jack’s cock.

“Don’t need it.” And with that, Yusei lowers down until Jack is buried as deep as he can go, the moan that breaks free from his throat more pained than pleasured.

“Idiot,” Jack growls, his hands on Yusei’s waist to keep him steady (and to pull him off if it gets too much). “I’m hurting you.”

Yusei shakes his head, but he’s trembling all over, and he’s not moving yet. “It’s okay,” he whispers, raising a hand to stroke Jack’s face. “Feels good.” He nudges Jack’s lips with his fingertips, smiling when Jack kisses them. “I’ve missed this.” He closes his eyes, gasping as he shifts his weight a little. “Missed you.”

Jack feels the same way, and it makes him wonder how he’s managed to cope so long without sex. They really need to have it more frequently than they do, but bad habits are hard to break, and he doubts Yusei will ever stop overworking himself, even when the WRGP is over and there’s nothing for them to do afterwards but bask in the glory of their victory. It’s just how he is.

Finally, Yusei is ready for more, and he’s not shy about asking for it. Jack lets him set the pace at first, but he can’t hold back much longer, not when Yusei has been holding out on him all this time, and he isn’t careful at all when he lets go, slamming his hips into Yusei’s ass and forcing a startled moan out of him.

“Again,” Yusei begs, and Jack repeats the motion. “Harder.”

But it’s not enough, not for either of them, so Jack pulls out, ignoring Yusei’s cries of protest as he flips them over and thrusts back in, fucking him in earnest. Yusei keeps making anxious pleading noises so Jack goes down on one elbow, closing his free hand tight around Yusei’s cock and jerking him off until he comes, following soon after as he buries his face against Yusei’s throat and bites down hard, every muscle in his body going tense and then relaxing altogether, totally spent.

He’s probably crushing Yusei, but there are no complaints, at least until he hears Yusei’s stomach grumble. Then Yusei squirms underneath him, pushing at his shoulders. Jack rolls off with a grunt, watching tiredly as he gets out of bed to pull on his shorts.

His first stop is the bathroom, the sound of the shower lulling Jack into a light doze, one that Yusei disturbs him from a short while later when he returns with cup ramen. Jack can tell by the smell that it’s pork flavoured, and it makes him feel hungry too as Yusei slurps away quietly. It’s too early to eat, too early to even be awake, but he doesn’t refuse when Yusei offers him a taste. He’s wearing one of Jack’s dress shirts and nothing else, the hem of it barely skimming the tops of his thighs, and Jack doesn’t know what to tell him off for first, using his belongings without proper permission or wandering around the garage dressed in a way that would make anyone want to molest him, but Yusei doesn’t seem to care that Crow or Bruno could have seen him, reassuring Jack that they’re both sound asleep.

It’s what Jack wants to be right now, but he can’t nod off. Yusei has no such difficulty, and Jack knows he’ll probably sleep in until at least mid afternoon before returning to his usual pattern of ignoring Jack, meals and rest in favour of work. It makes Jack wonder what life would be like if Yusei was actually normal, but trying to imagine such a thing makes his head hurt. He’s destined to remain freakish forever, so Jack is just going to have to adapt somehow.

 

End.


	23. Twenty three

Title: Inerasable  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei, implied Kiryu/Yusei  
Rating: PG-13  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

It’s time to leave, but Yusei has disappeared somewhere. Jack leaves Crow to babysit West and Nico while he looks for him (the kids seem to be enjoying themselves enough with their newest ‘big brother,’ and it keeps them out of Jack’s way because he doesn’t have the patience to deal with them), eventually finding Yusei alone together with Kiryu.

They’re talking too quietly for Jack to hear what they’re saying, but apparently Yusei is bidding him farewell. Kiryu smiles, the upturn of his lips slight, something soft and private that's meant just for Yusei, and Yusei responds by reaching up to touch Kiryu’s face, the tenderness of the gesture making jealousy twist inside Jack’s gut.

He doesn’t do anything about it until they’re back at home, when Crow takes off for work and Jack kicks Bruno out, uncaring of where he goes or what he does as long as he isn’t polluting the garage with his presence. Only then does he kiss Yusei until he’s gasping and unsteady on his feet, until he has to curl his fingers tight around Jack’s biceps to stay upright.

Jack hates Yusei’s willingness to drop everything and go running to the aid of whoever needs his help. He’s always been like this, always putting others before himself, but Kiryu annoys Jack more than most because of what he and Yusei once shared, because of the hold he still has over him.

“Do you still love him?” he asks, snaking an arm around Yusei’s waist and yanking him closer, refusing to let him break away.

“Things are different now,” says Yusei, one of his hands sliding up along Jack’s arm, over his shoulders and into his hair. “We’ve both changed.”

That’s true enough, Jack supposes, slipping his fingers down lower and hooking them underneath the waistband of Yusei’s jeans. “I was watching,” he says, nudging a thigh between Yusei’s legs. “You could have kissed him.”

“But I didn’t,” Yusei insists, his breath hitching as his head falls back on his shoulders, baring his throat. “I wouldn’t.”

Jack takes what he’s offering, closing his teeth on Yusei’s neck over the spot where he can feel the flutter of his pulse. “Did you want to?” he asks, unable to let the matter drop.

Yusei shakes his head once, and it’s enough. He doesn’t lie, at least not to Jack. It doesn’t matter that he’s turned his back on Yusei once already, because Yusei never betrays anyone, not even Kiryu, his beliefs unwavering, his loyalty unshakeable.

Even so, Jack’s urge to reassert his claim doesn’t change, doesn’t make him any less gentle as he pushes Yusei onto the couch, caging him in place beneath his body, only tearing his mouth away from Yusei’s skin long enough to get the two of them naked.

He leaves bruises behind on Yusei’s collarbone, on his hips and thighs, the blatant signs of ownership satisfying Jack more than words ever could, Yusei crying out every time he drives deeper inside of him, only quieting when it’s over and twitching weakly when Jack pulls out, but it’s temporary at best, nothing like the jagged scar that mars his belly.

Yusei notices him staring, places a hand over his stomach instinctively, protective almost, shielding from view what’s been given to him by Kiryu, what Jack can never erase or ignore, so he bites at it instead until Yusei twists and moans, and Jack takes him all over again.

 

End.


	24. Twenty four

Title: Without Words  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei, hinted Crow/Aki  
Rating: PG-13  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Yusei hasn’t moved from the spot Jack last saw him in when he wakes up from his afternoon nap, engrossed in his work as usual, but the garage itself is oddly quiet. There’s the hum of Yusei’s computer and the sound of his fingers clicking on the keyboard, but there’s nothing and nobody else around, no Crow, no Bruno. Not that Jack cares much about his whereabouts, but Crow usually tends to finish with deliveries earlier than this.

Jack isn’t exactly worried or anything, or at least it’s what he tells himself as he pulls up a chair to sit beside Yusei. It’s just that Crow has a duty to let them know when he won’t be home on time (and because it’s no fun when he doesn’t have anyone to pick fights with).

Yusei doesn’t seem too fazed when Jack comments on Crow’s absence. He merely shrugs and says, “He’s probably over at Aki’s place.”

“Izayoi’s? What for?”

Yusei averts his gaze tactfully. “Whatever two people do when they’re alone together, I assume.”

Jack gawks. “Crow?” Then he tries to get his mind around the new and baffling piece of information. “And Izayoi?”

Yusei nods.

“Doing... *it*?” Jack has never heard anything about this before, especially not from Crow. He isn’t the type to keep secrets. It’s not his style. “How do you know?”

“Crow told me so.”

He obviously hasn’t bothered informing Jack. It’s annoying, but it kind of makes sense. Crow hasn’t been bitching at him nearly as much lately. Now Jack knows why. It’s obviously because he’s getting laid. Sex can make even the most foul tempered of people more likeable and easy to be around. Jack is living proof. He’s mellowed out a lot since he first got into Yusei’s pants.

“I guess I can understand the appeal on his side,” he muses, aware that most guys would be taken with a girl like Aki and her bowling ball-sized boobs, “but what on earth does she see in Crow?”

Yusei’s answer comes with surprising promptness. “Crow is a very caring individual,” he says, perfectly sincere. “He’s considerate of other people’s feelings, he’s a good provider, he can cook and he loves children. From what I’ve heard, they’re all the kind of qualities women find desirable in a man.”

“What about mine?”

“The good ones?” Yusei arches an eyebrow. “Or the bad?”

He shouldn’t need to be told which Jack would rather hear, but even Yusei likes to have some fun once in a blue moon. Right now, going by the barely-there smile quirking his lips, it appears to be at Jack’s expense.

“The good ones, of course,” Jack huffs, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for the compliments to start pouring in.

The seconds tick by. For some strange reason, Yusei’s response doesn’t come nearly as quickly this time. Jack taps out an impatient rhythm against the floor with his right foot. It fails to spur Yusei to get a move on, but at least his expression suggests he’s giving the matter some serious contemplation.

“You’ve always had the courage to stand by your beliefs,” he says at last. It’s nothing too impressive, but it also happens to be the truth. “That’s admirable.”

“What else?”

“You’re willing to protect the things you hold important.” Yusei pauses. “Although,” he adds, “that’s more a part of your territorial nature.”

Jack’s smirk is as pleased as it is proud. “I’m only looking after what’s mine.”

Then there’s only silence. It annoys Jack because it implies Yusei has not only run out of things to say to stroke his ego with, but also that Crow has more to offer than he does. That’s what really gets on his nerves.

“You’re saying Crow is better than me?” he demands, ignoring the way Yusei’s amusement is subtly starting to show itself once more. “Is he also better in bed?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Yusei replies, his tone mild, “on account of the fact that Aki is the one who gets to experience that side of him and not me.”

“Well, he’s not the only one who cooks. I do, too. I can make ramen and spaghetti and even curry. You like all those foods, right? See, I can provide. And who really needs to know how to handle brats nowadays? That’s what school is for, to take care of them so you don’t have to. And as for that mushy feelings crap, if someone is upset or undecided, you just have to punch them around a bit until they come to their senses. It’s very effective.”

Jack’s not even sure why he’s getting so worked up in the first place. Yusei said it himself, that women are the ones who seek out such qualities in men, and he’s definitely no woman. He doesn’t even eat most of the time. To Yusei food exists solely for the purpose of fuelling of his body, not for anything that resembles actual enjoyment or appreciation. What’s more, he’s the type of person who values others not for their nurturing skills but their ability to understand him when he goes in depth about his beloved machines.

Kind of like Bruno.

Jack scowls, cursing the fact that he can still manage to piss him off without being in the general vicinity. Then the scowl turns into a smirk as he yanks Yusei out of his seat and into his lap.

“Jack, let go.” Yusei squirms. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Sure you do.” Jack tightens his grip. “But tell me, Yusei. What *do* two people do when they’re alone together?”

“I think you know the answer to that,” says Yusei dryly.

“Humour me.”

Yusei sighs. It’s hardly the most favourable response, but then he’s never been good at this whole flirting business. He does, however, indulge Jack by leaning in and kissing him. It’s brief and far from satisfying, but Jack is feeling too playful to complain.

“That’s all?” he says, giving Yusei a mock pout. “Nothing else?”

The expression Yusei wears is one that Jack is rather familiar with, the ‘you’re insufferable’ one. He likes it a lot. It usually means he’s won. It’s also why he releases Yusei when he squirms again, dropping to his knees and reaching for the zipper of Jack’s pants. This time, when he looks up, he has on the ‘happy now?’ expression.

‘Very much so’ is Jack’s equally soundless reply, his grin of anticipation saying more than words ever could.

 

End.


	25. Twenty five

Title: All the More Mystified  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/fem!Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

It shouldn’t be possible for someone so smart to be this dumb, but Yusei somehow manages. It’s annoying and it’s frustrating and it makes Jack want to shake her until she sees sense, but she’s even more stubborn than he is once she’s come to a decision. He can’t accept it, though, not this time at least, and not when there’s so much at stake.

“You’re an idiot,” he say flatly. “You know that, right?”

“You’ve already told me,” Yusei replies, cool as ever as she works on fixing up an old radio scrounged from the junkyard. “Five times, actually. I kept count.”

“Well, you are,” Jack retorts and then, for good measure, childish though it sounds, he adds, “so there,” before Yusei can say anything back, but she doesn’t. She merely gives a vague “hmm” of response.

Jack forces himself to take a deep, calming breath. Yelling hasn’t gotten him anywhere so far. Yusei is far too skilled at tuning out what she considers to be nothing more than background noise. It’s what years of bickering with Crow have accomplished. She doesn’t seem to hear their screaming matches anymore, much less notice when they’re actually having one.

“You have to understand,” says Jack, speaking slowly not only in an attempt to keep from losing his temper again, but also to make sure that he’s getting through to Yusei properly. “This is a once in a lifetime chance. You’d be a fool not to take it.”

“I don’t care,” Yusei insists. “I’m not going.”

“Why?” Jack asks, the irritation returning to his voice in spite of himself, although he hasn’t raised it yet. “You obviously have your reasons. Explain them to me.”

“I don’t trust those guys.”

“Neither do I. But, I believe their offer was sincere.”

Yusei shrugs her shoulders. They look so small without her jacket there to cover them. She’s as skinny as ever, but already her body is beginning to change. Her breasts are bigger than they were three months ago, and her stomach isn’t quite so flat anymore. It’s all Jack’s fault, of course, but Yusei isn’t exactly blaming him for anything.

Everyone knows Yusei doesn’t belong in a place like this. She’s more talented, more intelligent and altogether more useful than the average Satellite resident, but that still doesn’t explain why the Public Security Bureau has its eye on her. They want her in the city for whatever reason.

It’s suspicious and it sounds too good to be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that Yusei has been given what nobody else will ever get – the permission to leave and an invitation for a better life.

Jack knows that if their positions were reversed and he was the one with the opportunity, he’d grab it with both hands. He might regret it later but he wouldn’t refuse it, which is why he feels like the biggest asshole on earth for being jealous and resentful. Yusei deserves more. Jack would like to think that he does, too, that Yusei’s not the only one who’s special, but he’s not that petty. He’s also not a kid anymore. It’s doesn’t come easy, but he has to start putting someone else before himself.

“Bringing up a baby is hard,” he says, hoping Yusei will agree with his reasoning. “Especially here in Satellite.”

“Martha coped fine,” says Yusei. “She’s reared plenty before.”

“That’s different. None of them were hers.”

“You’d better not let Martha know you said that. She cherishes every orphan as though they were her own flesh and blood.”

“It’s not the same! This kid could have all the things we never grew up with, clean air, a nice house, new clothes, an education. Are you really going to deny that to him or her? Do you think it would be fair?” Jack realises how cruel he’s being to manipulate her emotionally like this, but he has to do it. “What if something goes wrong? What if there are complications? Satellite doesn’t even have a proper hospital. As far as the city is concerned, we’re nothing but trash. They don’t give a damn whether people live or die out here.”

“We’re not trash.” Yusei’s voice is quiet, but firm. “Or scum, or dispensable. There isn’t a single person in this world whose existence is unnecessary. In any case, Doctor Schmitt is an excellent medical professional.”

“But he’s not a midwife.”

“Martha promised to help.”

“That’ll be providing her with one more burden when she has enough of them already.”

“I know. It’s why I plan on moving out.”

Jack bangs a fist on the table in disbelief. “What the hell? Have you completely lost it?”

Yusei places down her screwdriver so she can give Jack her full attention. “I’m not leaving Satellite. Not without you. And since you can’t come with me, I’ll stay. Everyone else I care for is here, too. I won’t abandon them.”

Jack’s fingers clench tightly. He’s so angry he could break the table, but that would just leave Yusei with yet another thing to fix. He can’t believe how pigheaded she’s being about this. Then Yusei places a hand over his fist, gentle, reassuring, and the fight just goes right out of him.

“You’re worried. It’s only natural. So am I, to be honest.”

Jack looks up in surprise. Yusei is always so capable and self-assured that it’s not the kind of thing he expects to hear from her. “Really?” he asks.

“Really,” she says. “And maybe even scared, a little.”

She’s not the only one. Jack finds the thought of becoming a father downright terrifying sometimes.

“But,” Yusei continues, a slight smile curving her lips, “I’m also happy.”

Jack doesn’t get it. He doesn’t know how she can be full of so much hope when there’s no future for them, let alone their unborn child. “You’d be happier in the city,” he points out.

“No.” Yusei shakes her head. “No I wouldn’t.”

She actually means what she’s saying. It leaves Jack all the more mystified.

“You’re an idiot,” he sighs, resignation taking over. “Have I told you that lately?”

Yusei nods. “I believe this would be the sixth time. Not that it matters because I’m still moving. I’ll find a hideout somewhere safe, make sure it’s suitable enough for the two of us. You’re not supposed to be here anymore, right?”

Jack scowls. The memory of Martha kicking him out of the orphanage and threatening to castrate him with a rusty knife after learning of Yusei’s pregnancy is very much fresh in his mind. “I didn’t think she’d take it that badly.”

“Yeah. She was kind of upset at first.”

‘Kind of’ is an understatement. Jack can clearly recall Martha going ballistic; throwing pots and pans and whatever else she could find close enough to reach at him while Yusei sat serenely drinking tea. It’s one of the more surreal experiences he’s been through.

“Whatever,” he grunts, uncurling his fingers and joining them with Yusei’s. “I’ll stay until she figures out I’m back.”

“And then run away when she tries to prevent you from fathering anymore children,” says Yusei. “Again.”

“I didn’t run away,” Jack protests. “I walked. Very quickly. So that she wouldn’t catch me and do horrible, unspeakable things.”

Yusei laughs softly, resting her head against Jack’s arm. He isn’t sure if this is what she would call happiness, but she looks content at least. Amused. Affectionate. Loving even.

That’s when Jack’s face grows hot. It’s the dumbest thing ever, considering he only seems to blush over stuff like this and not when they’re doing anything that might provoke such a reaction, like having sex, but it always makes him feel just a tiny bit awkward and ridiculously infatuated.

Yusei notices, and her expression turns questioning. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Jack says. He can’t help smiling. “I’m good.”

 

End.


	26. Twenty six

Title: Preserved for Posterity  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: R  
Warnings: AU, part of jackpire's trippingroad universe  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

It’s ridiculously early in the morning when Jack opens his eyes, too early to be up and about at this hour, or even out of bed, which is fortunate because he’s comfortable right where he is. They’ve slept in some pretty crappy cheap hotels during their road trip, but at least the bed in this one isn’t so bad. It’s still better than camping out, and it’s big enough to fit both him and Yusei without being cramped. Not that Yusei takes up much space anyway, curled up the way he is against Jack’s chest.

Jack wonders idly how long he’s been awake. Then, when he hears the little blipping noises coming from Yusei’s cell phone, he wonders how on earth Yusei manages to text so fast without getting carpal tunnel syndrome.

“I’m starting to think you’re addicted to that thing,” he says, his voice low and rough with sleep.

Yusei spares him the most cursory of glances before turning his attention back to his phone. “No I’m not.”

Jack snorts sceptically. “Who are you messaging?”

“Aki. We’ve been exchanging pictures to see whose partner has the most idiotic sleeping face.” Yusei brings up an image of Crow to show to Jack. His mouth is open and drooling, and his expression is one of blissful delirium. “Incidentally, this is the one I sent her.”

Jack is less amused to see the photo of himself. Although he’s glad he doesn’t look anywhere near as dumb as Crow when he’s asleep, it’s still not the kind of thing he wants preserved for posterity. Frowning, he snatches the phone from Yusei’s grasp, ignoring his protests as he opens the menu and selects the delete option. Once that’s done, he discovers it isn’t the only picture Yusei has saved.

“Give it back,” says Yusei, attempting to twist the phone away from him, but Jack is far too curious to let him have his way.

He soon discovers that all the photos are of him. There’s one where he’s drinking coffee in some roadside café, another where he’s emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, a couple more where he’s standing by Stardust...

“When the hell did you manage take these? Are you a ninja? Or just a regular pervert?”

Yusei is obviously embarrassed. Jack doesn’t give a damn. He’s really more amused than annoyed, and he continues to hold the phone out of Yusei’s reach. Yusei makes another grab for it. They grapple for a few seconds before Jack forces Yusei onto his back and pins his wrists above his head. Yusei gives a startled moan when Jack slides a thigh between his legs, his eyes falling shut and his cheeks tinged red. Jack almost doesn’t realise what he’s doing at first until he hears the click of the camera, but then Yusei’s eyes fly open with a gasp.

“Nice, huh?” says Jack, showing him the picture he’s taken. “Maybe I should send this one to Aki, too.”

Yusei’s expression is horrified. “You can’t be serious.”

And Jack isn’t. Not really. There’s no way he’d share something like this with anyone else. It doesn’t stop him from taking another picture, though, or from nudging his knee against Yusei’s cock. He’s already getting hard. He only needs the slightest stimulation to provide Jack with the reactions he’s begun to grow so greedy for. It’s amazing and it’s sexy, and Jack loves how easy it is to get a response out of him.

Yusei moans again, softer this time, like he’s trying to keep quiet, and Jack snaps a third shot of him when he bites down on his lower lip. “Who’s the pervert now?” he whispers, making one final half-hearted attempt at retrieving his phone.

“Shut up,” Jack laughs, leaning down to press a kiss to Yusei’s throat. “I don’t hear you complaining.”

Whatever response Yusei is about to come up with is forgotten when Jack begins to suck, his breath hitching sharply. Jack likes the look of the mark he leaves behind, so he takes a close up of it, then another one of the way Yusei looks when he pinches his nipples. He suddenly finds himself wishing he had an actual camera and not some second-rate function on a cell phone. Or, even better, a camcorder.

The thought stops Jack cold. Did he seriously just contemplate making a porno with Yusei? Then he starts to panic a little bit. All this homo stuff is turning him insane. Finally, when his brain begins functioning properly again, he sees the vulnerability and uncertainty on Yusei’s features. Either he’s got psychic powers or Jack is easier to read than he would like, because he’s starting to look downright terrified now that Jack isn’t teasing him anymore.

Jack can’t help it. He’s still so new to this, still can’t stop from freaking out inside at what he’s actually doing, but he knows it must be even worse for Yusei, who’s so afraid of rejection, of being hurt, and it pisses him off as much as it leaves him feeling protective. Because punching Yusei would be a very bad idea right now, Jack kisses him instead, hard and deep and earnest, trying to make Yusei understand without words that he doesn’t have the courage to say out loud just yet how much he wants this, how much he wants *him*. It must have gotten through somehow when Yusei kisses him back, tentatively at first, and then with more confidence.

Jack doesn’t care about the stupid cell phone anymore, doesn’t care about anything other than kissing his way along Yusei’s neck where he bites and licks and sucks until there’s a whole bunch of new marks to match the one he left before. Yusei doesn’t complain, doesn’t gasp or groan or do much of anything really, and he smiles wryly when Jack narrows his eyes.

“Not everyone knows we’re fucking,” he says. “Right?”

It’s technically Jack’s fault that Yusei is acting like what they’re doing is something to be kept a secret, or to be ashamed of, but it still makes him scowl irritably, as does the way Yusei stifles his groan with a fist when Jack reaches for his cock. Then he moves down until he’s settled between Yusei’s legs and Yusei does the mind reader thing again (or maybe Jack needs to work on his poker face) because there’s a part of him that really doesn’t want to do this, that doesn’t even want to entertain the thought.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to.”

“Damn it, Yusei,” Jack growls. He doesn’t need consideration or a convenient way out. He’s not a coward. He’s also stubborn as hell. Yusei should know that better than anyone. “Just lie there and let me suck you off.”

Yusei’s eyes are wide. He doesn’t seem to believe what Jack is saying, but that’s okay. Jack can’t quite believe it, either. It all seems so surreal as he leans in and kisses the head of Yusei’s cock, a mere brush of lips, but it’s enough to get a taste of the pre-come gathered there. Jack resists the instinctive urge to gag, or wrinkle his nose in disgust, instead closing his eyes and running his tongue along the underside, licking his way from base to tip. Yusei squirms, his thighs trembling, and it’s a good thing Jack has the sense to hold his hips steady first before taking him into his mouth because Yusei jerks instantly, unable to restrain himself this time.

“Fuck,” Yusei hisses, uncurling the fingers of the hand covering the lower half of his face to tangle tightly in the sheets, the other sliding over the back of Jack’s head and tugging at his hair, not enough to hurt or, thank god, to push him down further, because Jack isn’t sure he could handle that. He needs to do this at his own pace, without being forced. Yusei, thank god, seems to be aware of this. “I’m sorry,” he pants, stroking Jack’s hair clumsily.

Jack has no idea what he’s apologising for, so he concentrates on sucking Yusei in deeper. He can’t figure out whether he’s actually enjoying this or not, but it’s not exactly horrible or repulsive, and he’s all right with it for now. Yusei is too by the sound of things, but then Jack has long since learned how vocal he can be. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that he’s still a relative novice, or maybe he’s always been this way, but there’s nothing to stop the moans and the murmurs coming from him now. Jack likes them enough not to worry about what their neighbours might be overhearing, assuming they have any of them in the first place, likes how sexy they make Yusei sound, and he’s just starting to think about how much he’d rather be fucking him instead of giving the first blowjob of his life when Yusei suddenly comes.

It takes Jack completely by surprise, not having expected Yusei to reach his climax this soon. He’d like to tell him he needs to work on his stamina only he’s way too busy coughing and choking, and he’ll readily admit that this part is sort of gross. It also makes him look uncouth and unprepared, but Yusei doesn’t seem to care or notice. He’s just staring up at the ceiling in a daze and shuddering all over, so Jack wipes his mouth on the sheets and wonders if it would be considered poor etiquette to kiss him. He’s guessing it probably wouldn’t be too enjoyable, but he really feels like kissing Yusei for some reason, or at least saying something about how he ought to have warned him before just coming like that, but Yusei is the one to speak up first.

“Lube’s in the bag,” he says breathlessly.

Jack licks his lips. He can still taste Yusei on them. “You want to...?”

Yusei nods. “Yeah. I want to.” He rolls over so that he’s lying flat on his stomach and then lifts his hips, offering himself willingly.

Jack nearly trips over his own two feet in his haste to get to the bag. He slicks his cock up first, then his fingers, and he gets the first inside with little effort. “Okay?” he asks.

“Okay,” Yusei assures him.

But Jack doesn’t coax a second finger in just yet. The nape of Yusei’s neck is tempting him to kiss it, and that’s exactly what he does. “Feel nice?”

Yusei laughs softly. “You don’t have to be so sweet. Just fuck me. That’s what you’d prefer, isn’t it?”

Of course it is, but Jack feels kind of put out anyway because he’s trying to be careful and gentle, and maybe even a little romantic. It’s not that long since he unwittingly took Yusei’s virginity, after all. “Doesn’t mean I can’t make it good.”

Yusei’s smile is half-hidden by the pillows, a mere hint of tenderness and sincerity. “It always is when I’m with you.”

Jack doesn’t know what to say to that, so he pretends not to notice the weird sensation in his chest. Yusei has already given him the go-ahead. That’s all Jack needs. There’s no more messing around after that, and it’s not even really fucking, but Jack doesn’t dare think of it as something like making love because that would sounds like they’re actually in a relationship or whatever, and it’s easier to simply lose himself in Yusei than try to contemplate just what they are to one another.

There’s a strange sense of déjà vu when Jack returns to his senses some time later to hear Yusei tapping away on his cell phone. He watches as Yusei deletes not only the pictures he took earlier but also the ones he’s been collecting throughout the duration of the trip.

“How much money do we have left?”

Yusei shrugs. “Not much. Why?”

“Is there enough to buy a proper camera?”

“I guess.”

“Then get one.”

It’s as close as Jack can come to saying he wants them to start making memories together, but Yusei is smart enough to read between the lines and understand the true meaning behind his words.

“Will do,” he says.

Jack’s lips curve upwards. It’s not a smirk or a grin. It's a genuine smile.

“Good.”

 

End.


	27. Twenty seven

Title: Constructive  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Yusei/fem!Jack  
Rating: R  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

It would be so easy to undo the zipper, to pull back his boxers and just slide down onto his cock, but Yusei won’t let her, keeps his grip tight on Jack’s hips as she rubs against the bulge in his jeans. She’s naked, he’s not, if only because it’s the one thing helping him cling onto his restraint.

“Yusei,” Jack moans, no longer caring anymore. “Let’s *do* it, already.”

“We can’t,” Yusei tells her breathlessly, shaking his head. “You know that.”

He tries to lift her off of him then, and she punches him. Any other time and she’d feel bad about it, but she’s horny and she’s frustrated and she wants him so bad.

“Dammit,” she hisses, leaning down and pressing a clumsy kiss to the spot on Yusei’s face that’s just received her blow. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

It’s not his fault they’re in such a state. It’s Jack’s fault for starting it. She always does. Yusei never initiates anything. He likes to think before he acts. Jack prefers it the other way around, but even she can admit when Yusei is right. It’s difficult enough simply getting food and basic medical supplies every month, never mind contraceptives, and besides, Martha would have a fit if she knew what they were doing.

Reluctantly, Jack climbs out of Yusei’s lap. She notices for the first time the way he’s trembling with the effort of holding himself still, how he bites his lip to keep from making any unnecessary noise, and she can’t help softening a little. She hardly ever sees him like this, after all. He’s usually so composed, so controlled.

“This would be so much easier if I were a guy,” she says, smirking when Yusei’s eyes widen guiltily. Jack doesn’t mind. She’d actually kind of enjoy it. Not on a full time basis, of course, but she’d be interested to experience it at least once. “If I had a cock, I’d fuck you so hard you’d probably forget how to use that brain of yours for the first time in your life.”

“I could always make do with Crow,” Yusei suggests wryly.

“I’m not letting his dick anywhere near your ass,” Jack growls, biting down on Yusei’s neck. The mark she leaves behind is pleasing and will no doubt serve to remind him that she’s not the type to share with anyone, but it leaves her far from satisfied. “Never mind that guy, just finish me.”

But Yusei’s reactions are somewhat delayed, and Jack is impatient so she takes his hand and guides it between her legs. He knows what to do without being told, slipping his index and middle fingers inside her while using his thumb to stimulate her clit. It feels good. She’s pretty sure his cock would be even better, but Yusei won’t let her know what that might feel like. They’re old enough to be having sex, but too young for Jack to be getting pregnant. Not that Jack wants children anyway. Crow may love kids, but she can’t stand them. More importantly, she wants to make something of herself, no matter how impossible it sometimes seems in a dump like Satellite.

Jack doesn’t want to think about the future right now, doesn’t want to think about anything other than how Yusei’s mouth would be better off being more constructive when her breasts are hanging right there in front of him. He soon gets the message when Jack tugs his hair, leaning in to trace his tongue over one nipple and sucking it at her insistence as she grinds down onto his hand, crooning his name as she comes.

It leaves her feeling empty when Yusei withdraws his fingers, but then he gives them a curious lick and it gets Jack horny for him all over again.

“What about me?” he protests when she pushes him onto his back and positions herself above his face.

“I’m not done yet,” she answers, because she’s greedy and she’s selfish and he knows it. “You can have your turn later.”

He grumbles something about how she’d better keep her promise, but Jack has long since ceased to pay any attention.

 

End.


	28. Twenty eight

Title: Someone Else’s Property  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Yusei/fem!Jack  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

“Yusei is getting surprisingly popular with girls these days.”

It’s a casual comment, and one that Crow doesn’t seem to give much thought about, but it makes Jack look up from her breakfast with a frown.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks cautiously.

“Well,” says Crow, pausing just long enough to finish off the last of his rice, “he’s only ever had guys chasing after him before. Now it’s different. There’s no way you can’t have noticed.”

Jack merely gives a ‘humph’ before turning back to her morning meal. “I couldn’t care less.”

“Oh really?” Crow grins in a knowing way that leaves Jack itching with the urge to lean across the table and punch him. “Even though you’re secretly seething with jealousy inside?”

“Think whatever you like,” Jack replies haughtily. It’s all an act, and one that Crow immediately sees right through.

“Sherry is obviously smitten when it comes to Yusei. What if she decides to make good on her threat to snatch him away? Aki is just as bad, although not nearly as forward about it.”

Jack snorts. Shameless is how she would rather describe Sherry’s behaviour when it comes to Yusei, closely followed by the words ‘brazen’ and ‘tart’, but that would be admitting how much a certain Ms Leblanc really bothers her.

“And what about Ruka?” Crow continues. “She won’t be a kid forever, you know. She’s going to grow up someday and fall in love for the first time. Who’s to say it won’t be with Yusei?”

But, instead of letting Crow goad her into becoming a source of amusement for him, Jack raises an eyebrow regally. “You should probably worry more about yourself than me. At least Yusei manages to receive attention from people of both genders. You don’t get any from either.”

Crow splutters indignantly for Jack to mind her own business, but the satisfaction she gains from such an accomplishment, no matter how small and trivial, doesn’t change that fact that he’s right. It’s something Jack continues to ponder long after Crow has left for work over a cup of Blue Eyes Mountain at her favourite coffee shop opposite the garage, staring down at the newspaper she’s purchased along with her beverage without actually reading it.

The problem she needs to solve, apart from Crow being annoying (and he’s only going to be even more so once he finds out she’s been spending his money again, but she has more important things to take care of right now), is how to make her many rivals, male and female, understand that Yusei is someone else’s property.

Hickeys would be the easiest way in which to mark him with, and one of the more enjoyable, but they’re not exactly indelible. They’d only fade over time, assuming Yusei didn’t try to keep them out of sight in the first place (and Jack wouldn’t put it past him).

No, she thinks, twirling a lock of hair around her index finger. She needs something more permanent, more effective, more of a statement. Then, her free hand absently stroking the necklace she hardly ever takes off, the idea strikes.

Jewellery.

It’s a display of wealth, of status, of ownership even.

Even so, it’s not enough to simply come up with a solution. There’s still one large obstacle standing in Jack’s path, and that’s money. She needs cash if she’s going to buy anything, and there are only three ways in which she can get her hands on some. She can steal it, she can win it or she can earn it.

For some reason, she doesn’t find option one all that appealing. She’s never had qualms about helping herself to Crow’s wages before, but this is different. It’s important. It’s... special. It’s something Jack wants to do on her own, and without help from anyone else.

Because she’s never been a gambling woman, the only thing left is to somehow find a job. It’s not as easy as it sounds, if only because Jack’s not sure if there’s anyone around who would still consider her to be employable after her last disastrous attempt at looking for work.

Before that, however, Jack decides to think things through for once in her life and make a plan of action, and it’s one that starts out with window-shopping. While finding the nearest jeweller’s isn’t exactly difficult, picking something out is. It’s not the first decision Jack has agonised over with regards to Yusei, and she doubts it’ll be the last, but memories of the past, of Stardust and of stolen D-Wheels, aren’t something she wishes to dwell on. It’s the present that really matters, the time itself as well as the gift, and Jack ignores the politely pushy store clerks as she scours one display case after another. Some of the prices are eye opening to say the least (it’s something else Crow is right about, much as Jack hates to admit it, but she honestly doesn’t have a clue about money and what the kind of things it can and can’t buy).

Eventually, after what feels like an eternity of staring at shiny, expensive items, Jack reaches her decision. She knows what she wants, and how much it’s going to cost. All that’s left now is to bully someone into offering her employment.

~~

The next morning starts out identical to the one before, with one exception. Jack finishes breakfast before Crow (Yusei has already left to do a repair job), leaving him looking considerably confused as she shrugs into her coat.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

“To work,” Jack replies. The smugness that comes with her statement soon fades when Crow’s expression turns sceptical.

“For how long? Until you get fired?”

“Until I get paid.”

The words are spoken through gritted teeth, and Jack finds the temptation to wipe the smirk off Crow’s face with a well-aimed fist is stronger than ever.

“Good luck with that, I guess,” says Crow, giving Jack a condescending pat on the shoulder. He obviously doesn’t believe she’s capable of doing anything of the sort, and the desire to prove him wrong is partly what spurs her on.

It’s certainly what gets Jack through her first job of the day as an extra in a movie. All she has to do is walk through the park where the main star acts out his scene with the leading lady along without outshining either of them. It may be easy money, but it’s a pathetically small amount. It’s not nearly enough. Jack needs more, so she heads off to her next job. She’s due to wash the windows of an office building, and her boss is unimpressed when she turns up ten minutes late. There’s nothing Jack would like more than to throw the bucket he shoves into her arms at his head, but she somehow manages not to lose her temper.

He returns an hour later to yell at her for being so slow, then to yell at her yet again for her less than stellar attempts at making the windows sparkle. Jack wants to yell right back at him, to just quit and stomp home in a sulk, but the image of Crow’s smirking face pops into her head and that pisses her off even more.

She won’t give up. Not this time. She’s too stubborn.

It’s late afternoon when she finally finishes, and even her bitch of a boss doesn’t have anything to complain about this time. He also has no excuse not to give her the pay that she’s earned.

Four days later, and after completing a whole variety of different jobs (dog walking, selling ice cream, stacking shelves and washing dishes) Jack finds herself with enough money to return to the jeweller’s she visited almost a week ago. As much as she’d love to brag to Crow about how much she’s made (and he’s still in a mild state of shock now that he’s found out she really can hold down a job long enough to get paid) she knows he’d only demand back what she owes him, so she keeps her mouth firmly shut.

It’s worth the effort and the hard work when she makes her way back to the garage, a little gift-wrapped box clutched tight in her hands. She feels proud of herself, excited, and almost happy enough to burst when she finally gives it to Yusei.

“What’s this for?” he asks, confusion written all over his features.

“Just open it,” Jack orders.

Yusei does so, undoing the artfully tied gold ribbon and revealing the contents. He stares at the ring inside for a very long moment. Then he lifts his gaze to meet Jack’s. “Are you proposing to me?”

Jack regards him blankly for all of about three seconds before her whole face goes bright red. “W-whatever gave you that impression?” she stammers.

“It’s a ring,” says Yusei.

“I know that!” Jack snaps.

“And you’re giving it to me.”

“Precisely! It’s proof that you’re my property, so you’d better not take it off once you’ve put it on.”

Yusei blinks. “I have to wear it?”

“Forever,” Jack says solemnly. “Until the day you die.”

But, Yusei being Yusei, it’s not the idea of belonging to another human being he resists. It’s something else entirely. “How much did it cost?”

“A lot.” Jack knows exactly what’s flitting through Yusei’s mind at the moment. He wants to ask her if she’s kept the receipt, if she can return the ring and get her money back so that they can use it for new parts instead, or riding suits, or whatever else the WRPG is going to cost them, but she won’t let him. “Never mind that, just put it on and stop looking ungrateful.”

“It’s not that,” Yusei protests. “I appreciate it. Really, I do.”

“But not as much as you’d appreciate something you could put inside a D-Wheel instead of on your finger.”

There’s a hint of guilt in Yusei’s smile, and maybe a little embarrassment over having been so easily read as he ignores Jack’s preening long enough to take the ring out of its box and slide it on. Jack goes red all over again when she sees that he’s wearing it on his ring finger, of all places.

“It doesn’t fit,” he remarks.

Jack is about to say that he’s wearing it on the wrong finger, that it wouldn’t be too big at all if he had it on his index or middle ones, but instead she mutters, “I’ll get it resized for you, then.”

“Oh.” Yusei raises his hand. Jack can’t be positive, but she thinks he might be admiring it. “All right.” She’s not sure quite what he’s agreeing to either, but then he offers her another smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she says gruffly. “And remember, you’re not allowed to take it off. It’s for everyone to see, but especially Aki, Sherry and Ruka. Whenever anyone hits on you, just show them that ring. Then they’ll back off.”

“Because I’m engaged?”

“Because you’re mine.”

And then Jack shuts Yusei up with a kiss before he can fluster her any more.

 

End.


	29. Twenty nine

Title: Nothing But a Myth  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/fem!Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

“I just noticed something,” says Rua, staring at Yusei curiously. “You drink a lot of milk but your boobs never seem to get any bigger.”

Ruka’s jaw drops in shock at the bluntness of his statement. “Rua,” she hisses, shooting him a scandalised look. “Don’t be so rude.”

“But it’s true!” Rua protests. “Big Sis Aki has big boobs. So does Mikage and Misty, and even Carly. Yusei doesn’t. How come?”

Ruka is about to apologise to Yusei, who’s starting to look uncomfortable at the turn their conversation has taken when Jack slams his cup down on the table, and makes them all jump.

“Ignorant child!” he booms. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Yusei is perfect just the way she is. As your senior in life, it is my duty to inform you that perky breasts are far superior. They never sag, they’re great to look at and, more importantly, they’re the ideal size for fondling.”

Yusei clears her throat. Jack ignores the warning.

“I don’t get it.” Rua, understandably for a twelve year old, is left somewhat bewildered. “I thought drinking milk made girl’s boobs bigger. By that reasoning, Yusei’s should be enormous.”

“It’s nothing but a myth,” Jack scoffs, waving a hand dismissively. “A foolish superstition.”

Rua falls silent for a moment in order to absorb this information. Then he sighs and shakes his head. “Nope. It still doesn’t make any sense.”

“That’s to be expected.” Jack crosses his arms over his chest, practically radiating smugness and superiority. “Women’s breasts are like a good coffee. You can only truly begin to appreciate them when you’re an adult.”

“So it’ll all become clear once I’ve grown up?”

“Wait until puberty kicks in. Then you’ll understand.”

Rua nods, seemingly content with Jack’s answer, but Ruka has no time to sigh in relief before he decides to fire off his next question. “What do boobs actually feel like?” he asks. “Are they all soft and squishy and stuff?”

“Find your own girl to experiment with,” Jack tells him. “But, if you really must know, they feel like heaven on earth. And they taste even better.”

“Really? What do they taste like?”

“If we’re talking about Yusei’s, then sweat and motor oil.”

“That doesn’t sound very nice.”

“Well, it is. It also feels good, for me as well as Yusei. She loves it when I–”

Yusei doesn’t even bother trying for discreetness this time. She cuts Jack off before he can complete his sentence, voice firm as she says, “Let’s talk about something else, guys.”

“Yeah,” Ruka chimes in, her face as crimson as the birthmark on her right arm. “Like powering up for the WRGP. Wouldn’t you rather help Yusei out with adjusting her D-Wheel instead, Rua? Let’s see what we can find at the junk market.”

Her older brother’s face lights up at the prospect of proving his helpfulness, although Jack’s expression is one of vague disappointment when the twins leave shortly after. Yusei raises an eyebrow at him, not so much annoyed by his behaviour as unimpressed.

“You should probably stop corrupting innocent children,” she advises.

“I did no such thing,” Jack huffs. “Or,” he adds, rising out of his seat and crossing over to where Yusei is sat in her usual spot at the computer, his grin rakish, “could it be that you don’t want me singing the praise of your greatest assets?”

“*Asset*,” Yusei corrects him, her face carefully bland as Jack places his hands on her shoulders. “Singular. Not plural. Which, if you hadn’t noticed, would happen to be my brain.”

Jack keeps his left hand where it is. The right slides slowly down the front of Yusei’s tank top. “If I had to rank them in order of preference, I’d go for breasts first, then brain, then butt.” He manages to get in a quick grope before Yusei pushes him away, leaning down to breathe in her scent. “Mm. You smell fantastic.”

“And you need to find yourself a job instead of distracting me from doing mine.”

“Stop talking like Crow. It’s ruining the mood.”

And then, before Yusei can respond, Jack lifts her easily into his arms and carries her upstairs to his room, making sure to lock the door in case Rua comes back early.

 

End.


	30. Thirty

Title: Plenty More to Follow  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Yusei/fem!Jack  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: Genderswitch  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Crow is the only one home when Yusei returns from his repair job. The clock on the wall tells him it’s too late for Jack to be at Café la Geen, and the Wheel of Fortune is where it’s usually parked, so she can’t have gone for a drive. When he questions her absence, Crow merely shrugs.

“She’s out on a date.”

It’s an unexpected answer, and it leaves Yusei frowning. “With who?”

“That Kazama guy from Security apparently.”

Yusei isn’t immediately able to put a face to the name until he recalls the members of Ushio’s Duel Chasers squad, but even then it comes as something of a surprise. He wonders for a moment whether he ought to be worried (Jack seems to be a magnet for trouble these days, and she still hasn’t got her head around the idea of working as a team, which is why she prefers to act on her own for the most part), but Crow dismisses his concern.

“She helped herself to my wages, as usual. Something about needing to buy a new dress, I think. She said she’d pay me back, but...” Crow trails off with a sceptical snort. “Like that’ll ever happen.”

“I see.” Yusei checks the clock once more. “She didn’t say when she’d be back?”

“Hell if I know. If you’re still awake by the time she decides to show her face, chew her out on my behalf. I’ve got work early tomorrow, otherwise I’d do it myself.” Crow narrows his eyes sternly. “No letting her off the hook, you hear me? Because you’re way too lenient when it comes to that moocher.”

He has a point. Yusei doesn’t mind Jack’s freeloading behaviour all that much, and it’s not as if she never helps out. It’s just not very often, and she’s far more likely to take money than give it.

“Seriously, man, you need to be stricter. You’re the only one she listens to anyway. Everything I say goes in through one ear and out of the other. Then she complains that I bitch at her constantly. I don’t do it for fun!” Crow sighs, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Great. Now I’m getting a headache.” He gives Yusei a tired wave. “I’m off to bed. ‘Night.”

Yusei nods back. “Good night.”

Turning on the computer, he shrugs out of his jacket and sits himself down. He’s no closer to completing the programme he’s been focusing most of his energy on now than he was when he started it, but there’s only so much he can do without a new engine to make life easier.

No wonder Crow was angry. Parts cost money, money that Jack prefers to spend on frivolous items such as clothes and cups of coffee. It’s not a case of simply being able to scrounge up bits and pieces from the junkyard. They don’t have a sponsor, so all the costs come from their own pockets, but Yusei is convinced they’ll somehow find a way. They have almost a whole year left before the WRGP. It’ll work out.

He doesn’t normally have trouble concentrating when he’s busy getting something done, but tonight it’s different. His attention keeps drifting from the computer to the clock.

It’s already 11PM.

He contemplates calling Jack on her cell phone before deciding against it. She won’t appreciate him prying into her personal affairs any more than she appreciates Crow’s insistence that she can’t continue to live her previous lifestyle while they’re trying to get by on a shoestring budget.

It’s just a date. Jack is free to do whatever she wants with whoever she likes.

Checking the time yet again, Yusei suddenly realises that his fingers have stopped moving on the keyboard, and that his mind has been filled with thoughts of Jack for the past fifteen minutes.

He can’t understand it. He’s not angry or resentful with her for taking the money they’re supposed to be putting aside for the tournament. It would have been nice of her to spend the cash on something more useful, but he’s hardly going to begrudge her for having a good time at Crow’s expense. And Jack certainly knows how to enjoy herself. It’s why she’s always telling Yusei he has no idea how to have fun.

Yusei wonders if that’s what she’s doing right now. He’s never been on a date before. He wonders what people are supposed to do when they’re out on one.

An image of Jack pops up in his brain, shaking her head and saying “you really are hopeless” like she used to back in Satellite, when his defeats in duelling still outnumbered his victories, and it bothers him for some reason.

Things have changed. He and Jack are equals, rivals, teammates.

But nothing more than that.

He’s caught off guard all of a sudden, unable to figure out just why he feels so unsure of himself, but then Jack seems to get under his skin without even trying, without even being there physically to unsettle him.

It’s almost a relief when Jack finally makes an appearance shortly before 2AM, raising an eyebrow when she catches sight of Yusei.

“Have you been waiting up for me?” she asks, amused.

“Of course not.”

It’s a lie. Yusei could have gone to bed hours ago. But he hasn’t. He’s chosen to remain where he is.

Jack gives a “hmm” as she pulls the door shut behind her, but says nothing more. It’s not like her to stay quiet. She can read Yusei better than anyone. She knows when he’s telling the truth just as well as she knows when he’s trying to avoid it.

Yusei watches out of the corner of his eye, mostly out of curiosity to see what she does next, but also because he can’t remember ever seeing Jack like this. She slips her shoes off with a sigh, curling her toes a bit when her bare feet touch the cold floor of the garage. He doesn’t have a clue about dresses, or women’s clothes in general, but the dress she’s wearing looks expensive. Yusei can smell her perfume, sharp and spicy, but not overpowering. He’s never known Jack to use perfume before. Then again, he’s never seen her dressed to impress. The Jack he knows best tends to favour her riding suit and her beloved trench coat. Seeing her in something different, something that flaunts her figure so obviously, is... strange.

It’s like he’s seeing her in a whole new light.

“Are you done checking me out?”

His face growing hot at Jack’s voice, Yusei clears his throat awkwardly. “I did no such thing.”

“Sure you didn’t.”

Jack’s smirk is disbelieving. She’s not upset. Yusei can’t be certain, but she almost comes across as being pleased. It’s probably her ego on display. That and everything else, because Jack approves of the old adage ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it’. She offers Yusei a great view down the front of her dress (the one that Kazama has probably been staring at all night) when she leans down to rub her ankles with a mutter of “annoying heels.”

Yusei changes the subject. “Crow’s going to be mad tomorrow.”

“Like I give a damn.” Jack’s elegant appearance is at odds with her choice of words. Once again Yusei is struck by how surreal the situation seems. “Well?” she prompts, straightening up. “Don’t you want to find out what I’ve been doing?”

“Not particularly. It’s none of my business.”

Jack ignores him. “We saw a movie. Then we had dinner. Then we danced. It was nice.”

“Kazama is a good man. Ushio rates his abilities highly. I can understand why.”

Jack’s expression is a mixture of disappointment and resignation. “Stupid Yusei. Don’t you even know how to get jealous properly?” His confusion only makes her sigh. “Okay, let me explain it from the beginning. You’ll just remain completely clueless otherwise. The date was a set up. And no, before you get the wrong idea, it wasn’t for some top-secret undercover mission. It was to tear you away from that infernal programme that’s been taking up nearly every minute of your time.”

“A set up,” Yusei repeats.

“That’s right,” Jack confirms.

“But why? It doesn’t make any sense. We need that programme as much as we need a new engine. Or don’t you want to participate in the WRGP anymore?”

“This isn’t about the WRGP! It’s about you being dense!” Jack’s voice is starting to rise in frustration. “You’re supposed to be a genius. How can you be such an idiot? Do I have to do everything in this relationship?” Before Yusei can ask her what she means by that, she takes a deep breath and continues. “Sure, Kazama is a great guy, but he’s not you. He’s not the one I’d rather have been out with tonight. It’s you. Unfortunately, you’re a god damn fool. Either that or you don’t have any interest in me whatsoever as a woman. Do you even acknowledge me as being female? Or does the fact that I have breasts and a vagina escape you altogether? Because Kazama sure as hell didn’t fail to notice. He knew it was an act, and he went along with it anyway. He still called me beautiful. He also called you an idiot for being so oblivious.”

There’s a long moment of silence while Yusei processes this information. “I’m not totally oblivious,” is the response he comes out with. Jack rolls her eyes in a sceptical manner. I just...”

“So you’re not jealous. The idea of me being with another man doesn’t bother you in the slightest.”

“Should it?”

“Yes, damn you.” Jack stalks over to where Yusei is sitting and hauls him up out of his chair. Even without the heels, she’s still taller than he is. “You’re supposed to upset and annoyed because... because...” She bites her lower lip, cheeks tinged pink before growling, “Because I sure as hell would be if our roles were reversed.”

She’s not the only one blushing. Yusei can feel himself going red all over again. Jack glares down at him fiercely, daring him to prove her wrong, and Yusei notices how close they’re standing. Jack’s right hand remains fisted in his tank top. She isn’t letting him go.

“I’m going to kiss you now. After that, one of two things is going to happen. We can either pretend it never happened and forget about it or we can decide to actually take it to the next level.”

She doesn’t ask Yusei if he’s okay with this. She just leans in until their lips are mere millimetres apart. Yusei’s eyes slide shut without him even being aware of it, his heart hammering away against his ribcage and his palms prickled with sweat. He can hear the sound of his own breathing, how loud it’s become, and he’s trembling.

It doesn’t occur to him why he’s reacting quite so strongly until he finally figures out what it’s anticipation and excitement that’s making him shake. It’s familiar, something he’s experienced before, and then he recalls only ever feeling this strongly before the start of a duel, but not a duel with just anyone.

Only Jack.

His breath hitches when he registers the press of Jack’s mouth on his, and his fingers twitch by his side. They’re aching to move, to touch, but he keeps them where they are, the fear and the exhilaration almost overwhelming. The kiss is gentle, innocent even, nothing like what he’s been expecting.

“Oh, god,” Jack says. “Please tell me that wasn’t the first time you’ve been kissed.”

Yusei averts his eyes in embarrassment.

“You’re eighteen! How is this even possible?” Jack exhales slowly. “Good thing I held back. You might have run a mile if I’d given you the tongue.”

“I would not,” Yusei retorts.

Jack accepts his challenge head on. “Then put your hands on me.” Yusei’s jaw drops. Jack raises an eyebrow. “Go on. I dare you.”

It’s like they’re little kids again, with Jack taunting him for being such a chicken, but the mood right now is very much adult. She’s enjoying this, watching him squirm, and it irritates Yusei as much as it mortifies him because, well, Jack has granted him permission (more like goaded him) to grope her.

His gaze automatically strays to her chest, towards the impressive amount of cleavage she’s showing off so proudly, but he instantly looks elsewhere before he can give in to the impulse to reach out and touch. The sound of Jack’s laughter causes him to jerk his head up, and his face turns redder still.

“I guess you’re not a total loss,” Jack grins. “You were just thinking about fondling my boobs, weren’t you?”

Yusei doesn’t deny it. Instead, he replies with as much dignity as he can muster, “I’m not a pervert.”

“No, Yusei,” Jack says patiently. “You’re a man. It’s natural to get these kinds of urges. This is what years of repressing your emotions and devoting yourself to lifeless machines have done to you. It’s actually pretty tragic. But,” she adds, her usual confidence shining through, “I can fix you. I could make you normal again.” And before Yusei can take offence, she feels behind him to grab a handful of his ass. He jumps about a foot into the air, shooting her a scandalised look. “See? Urges. It isn’t healthy to deny them.”

“Nor is it healthy to live your life without restraint,” Yusei counters. “Otherwise everyone would be in prison.”

“I’m Jack Atlas. I can do whatever I want. And what we’re doing here is one hundred per cent consensual. Or at least it will be once I hear your decision, because I’m not so selfish that I’d force you into something you didn’t want. Even though it’s the guy who’s usually trying to pressure the girl, but who cares about that. So? What do you say?”

“I say you’re a jerk for putting me on the spot like this.”

“And you’re the biggest virgin on earth, so we’re even.”

Jack’s hand hasn’t moved from his ass, her thumb stroking idly over the fabric of his jeans. Yusei wishes she would stop. It’s distracting. It also feels really good. It’s even better when Jack slips a thigh between his legs, making him gasp. He grits his teeth and arches up on his tiptoes, unwittingly putting himself at the perfect height to be kissed. Jack, never one to let an opportunity to pass her by, is quick to react.

There’s nothing innocent about this kiss, and Yusei’s hands grasp Jack’s shoulders automatically, moaning into her mouth without meaning to as she crushes him tight into a vice-like grip. He can’t breathe, can’t think, can’t do anything except surrender.

“That’s better,” Jack says afterwards. Yusei nods dumbly. “Feel like forgetting all about it?”

Thankfully, there’s a tiny part of Yusei’s brain that’s still capable of intelligent speech. “You can’t show me something that amazing and then take it away.”

Jack smiles. It’s sly and seductive, and it makes Yusei swallow hard. “I wasn’t planning to. Don’t worry. There’s plenty more to follow.”

 

End.


	31. Thirty one

Title: Straight to the Point  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s  
Pairing: Jack/Yusei  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Jack isn’t acting like himself at all. He looks awkward and embarrassed, but the scowl on his face is as fierce as ever. It’s a bit unfair to be on the receiving end, especially since Yusei doesn’t remember doing anything to deserve it, but then Jack has always had a bad habit of taking his temper out on other people.

“I want to kiss you,” he says, back ramrod straight and fists clenched tight by his sides.

It’s a blunt statement, straight to the point and, if Yusei is honest with himself, completely unexpected.

“Why?” he asks.

The question seems to throw Jack somewhat, enough to make him stop glaring at least. “Because,” he begins, sounding uncertain and confused. “Because...” he tries again, lowering his gaze uncomfortably before allowing the impatience and annoyance to take over and snapping out, “Damn it, do I really need a reason?”

“Well, yes.” And not just because Yusei is curious to find out why Jack is behaving so strangely. “Martha says that first kisses are special. You only get one of them. There won’t ever be another.”

“That’s a girl thing,” Jack scoffs, rolling his eyes. “It’s stupid. We’re guys, we don’t have to worry about this stuff.”

Yusei pauses to consider his options. Letting Jack have his first kiss somehow seems different, not to mention more important, than letting him have one of his blankets when he complains about it being too cold to sleep at night, or even letting him have the rest of his cup ramen because he’s still hungry and Yusei eats too slow.

“Okay,” he relents.

Jack blinks in surprise. “Okay?”

Yusei nods affirmatively. “Yeah.”

His response makes Jack nervous for some reason, but he tries to hide it by acting tough. “In that case, shut up and close your eyes.”

Yusei has never taken kindly to being ordered around, but he does as he’s told anyway and lets his eyes slide shut. Remembering how it’s not that long since Jack went through another growth spurt (he seems to having a lot of them lately, much to Martha’s dismay upon realising his clothes are getting too small for him again), he tilts his chin upwards so that Jack doesn’t have far to lean down and reach.

Then he waits. And waits. Until finally, he has to look up and check whether Jack is even still there.

He hasn’t gone anywhere (which is sort of a relief, because at least now Yusei knows for sure this isn’t some stupid joke), but it does make him angry when he sees Yusei staring at him in mild confusion.

“I thought I told you to close your eyes!”

“I did,” Yusei says reasonably. “And then I opened them because you were taking so long.”

“I was...” Jack trails off, fumbling for an excuse. “I was, you know, waiting for the right moment. You wouldn’t understand, you're just a kid.”

“So are you,” Yusei points out. “We’re the same age.”

“But I’m taller. And stronger. And cooler. And–”

Yusei leans up on his tiptoes and pecks him on the lips before he can finish his sentence – partly because it’s about time they got this over with already, but also because Jack is being so ridiculous. It leaves Jack looking very unhappy. Yusei isn’t sure whether it’s over being interrupted (Jack really hates that), or because he’s been caught off guard (he hates that even more).

“Idiot!” he sputters, staggering backwards a couple of steps. “That’s not how you’re supposed to do it. Don’t kiss me the same way you’d kiss Martha!”

Yusei is about to argue that he’d never kiss Martha on the lips in a million years, only on the cheek, and that anywhere else would be weird, but Jack moves nearer again and grabs him by the shoulders. His fingers dig in sharply, and it hurts (he doesn’t know his own strength sometimes), but there’s something about his expression that prevents Yusei from complaining or wriggling away.

“Jack,” he murmurs, voice soft and uncertain.

“Shh,” Jack says. “We’re going to do it right this time.”

Yusei swallows. He’s not entirely sure why his heart has begun to beat faster, although he’s guessing it might have something to do with the fact that Jack isn’t bossing him around and being so pissed off anymore. Jack doesn’t have to tell him to close his eyes again; he does it on his own. He wonders if Jack has somehow manages to infect him with his nervousness, but that’s not it. It’s not the same.

It takes him another few seconds to realise that he’s excited, that he’s actually anticipating Jack’s kiss instead of being indifferent towards it. He has no idea what has changed to make him feel this way, but then there comes the press of Jack’s mouth on his.

He immediately notices that Jack is being gentle, unusually so, and that’s what’s oddest of all. It’s uncharacteristic for him to be so careful. Whether he means to or not, he breaks things all the time, but it’s okay because Yusei is always there to fix them for him.

Jack pulls back, just briefly, and it’s even more different now when they kiss. Jack’s lips are moist, like he’s just been licking them, and they fit together better on their third attempt. It feels nice, so Yusei tries it too. Jack applies more pressure, one of his hands leaving Yusei’s shoulder to slide around the back of his neck, and it feels better still.

“Humph,” Jack says afterwards, rubbing a hand over his mouth. “That wasn’t so great.”

He turns his back, but not fast enough for Yusei to miss his blush.

 

End.


End file.
